The Vacation
by SephCurrentDaughterofPoseidon
Summary: Clary is both amused and annoyed by Jace, who acts oblivious to the fact. She puts up with him all year at school, and summer is her only reprive. So when she and her friends go to her family's summer house in Idris, she is horrified. After a few weeks there, she slowly begins to realize that there may be more to the house and to the antagonizing Jace Wayland than is let on.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first TMI fanfic. I don't know who I love more Jace or Magnus. I realize that this might be slightly OOC, but it's AU, so the people probably wouldn't act the way that they do if they were in a different situation. The major OOC shall be Jonathan, because he's a good guy.**

**I hope you all enjoy it! :)**

Clary was sitting in the back of a red shiny Camaro, wedged between Isabelle Lightwood and her adoptive brother, Jace Wayland. Her brother Jonathan, and friend, Sebastian, were in the front. Jon was driving. They were on their way to her family's summer home in Idris.

She took this time of amazingly uncomfortable silence to assess her situation. Most of it was pretty okay. Isabelle, her best girlfriend, was coming. Isabelle was drop-dead gorgeous, with long, straight, black hair, dark brown, almost black eyes, a curvy body, and a nice attitude once people got through the barrier of bitchiness.

Then there was Jon. She had barely had time to be with her brother that school year. Everything had been hectic and busy, she was just glad that everything was calming down enough for her to spend some time with him in the summer before her junior year at school. He was a large guy, all muscles. It was probably due to the various sports that he played during the year, including football and wrestling. He had silvery blond hair, black eyes, and tanned skin. He looked at her through the rearview mirror, and smirked a mischievous smile that Clary was all too used to.

Sebastian was a nice guy. He was shy, sweet, and kind. Not to mention his messy black hair, muscular arms, kind brown eyes, and cute smile, made Clary blush slightly. What could she say? He was cute. She was pretty happy to be hanging out with him. It was just too bad he had a girlfriend.

Now, getting down to her downside of the entire situation: the person sitting on her right, idly playing with a strand of her curly red hair. Jace Wayland was the single most annoying, perverted jerk to ever grace the planet. Okay, maybe she was being a bit overdramatic, but she rarely met people she'd like to deck more than him. The problem was he was hard to stay mad at...that and he was freaking hot. He had a head full of curly golden blond hair, golden tan skin, and wide gold-brown eyes that girls swoon over.

He always had a smartass remark waiting for her no matter what, and the nicknames that he had regarding her height and hair color were boarder line ridiculous. Sadly, despite his jerkiness, he tended to make her blush even more than Sebastian. Her cheeks flushing was easy to see because of her pale skin. Everyone else in the car looked like they belong on a beach, she looked like she should sign up for the role of the leprechaun at the next St Patrick's day play. With her height it wouldn't be that much of a stretch.

"So, Clary," Izzy said, snapping Clary out of her pondering. She flinched and slapped Jace's hand away from her red curl. Ignoring the pouting look on his face, she turned and looked at Isabelle. "You're going to let me set you up with at least one guy this year, right?" she asked.

"_Isabelle_!" Clary whined, her face flushing as she tried to lean away from her friend, but only got so far until her shoulder hit Jace's arm.

"Can we please not talk about setting my sister up with someone with my poor ears in the car?" Jonathan demanded. "I mean, really, why didn't you two ride with Alec and Magnus, or Simon, Jordan, and Maia?"

"Because Clary was itching for a reason to sit next to me without having to come up with an excuse," Jace snorted to his friend, causing Sebastian and Isabelle to snicker, and Jon to look at him sharply through the rearview mirror for a moment.

"Seeing as how I live with you," Clary said dryly, "it seemed like the most convenient ride. And who wants to ride with Alec and Magnus? It's worse than watching Jace look at his reflection. They're so lovey dovey that it's disgusting."

Everyone but Jace snorted at her jibe, and Clary mentally patted herself on the back.

"That was hurtful, Red," Jace said. "I thought we were past low blows."

"I'm sorry, Jacey," Clary said, batting her eyelashes sarcastically. "Would you like me to kiss it better?"

"Sure thing Clare-Bear," Jace said, his tone mock gushy. "Land one right here!" he pointed to his lips.

Clary was almost disappointed that he was joking...almost. As cute as he was, he was still Jace.

"Ugh!" Jon exclaimed. "That's my sister, Herondale! And please, I'm right here!"

Clary felt a small giggle bubble at her lips, and couldn't help but smile at Jace. "Good one," she commented.

"I try," Jace sighed, crossing his muscular arms behind his head, and leaning against the seat completely.

* * *

She had never been to the house, so when they pulled on to the property, she gasped, and leaned forward from her seat in the middle of two much taller people. This wasn't a house, it was a freaking mansion.

There seemed to be three stories. The wood of the house probably used to be painted white, but had faded with age. The yard was huge, expanding from the road, all the way to the forest, which encircled the back and sides of the yard. All of it was lush green grass, it seemed to be freshly cut, and well kept.

Clary's mother had paid a few people to go around and do most of the work out in the yard a week or so ago so that they would be set to go. Jon followed the gravel pathway slowly to the small parking area maybe ten yards from the large wooden porch. Clary could imagine an old couple sitting on rocking chairs there, sipping on iced tea and watching the sunset.

As soon as Jon turned off the car, Jace opened the door and jumped out. Clary inched out behind him, and he closed it behind her as she looked up at the house in wonder. There had to have been twenty windows showing on the front, which meant that there were almost that many on just the front half of the house.

She heard the sound two more car engines behind her, and turned around. A small blue Honda parked beside the Camaro, and beside the Civic came a sleek silver Porsche. Jordan, a tall, muscular, and tanned guy stepped out of the driver's seat of the Honda, and Maia, a tall and muscular girl with braided hair, and tanned skin stepped out of the passenger's seat. Simon, the thin and gangly nerd, stepped out of the back. He had messy brown hair, lightly tanned skin, and deep brown eyes that were hidden behind a pair of glasses.

The Porsche held Magnus, a tall, thin, and colorful man, who looked to be of some kind of Asian descent. His hair was spiked, and loaded down the glitter. Alec Lightwood, Magnus' boyfriend, stepped out of the passenger's seat. He was tall, and had a slim muscular build on him. He had black hair, blue eyes, and lightly tanned skin. He was wearing his normal dark colors, and had his normal brooding expression on.

All of them looked up at the house in appreciation. "Dang, Jon, you never mentioned this place," Jordan said, taring his eyes off the home to look at her brother. "Doesn't exactly match with your other house, you know?"

"Clary and I came here last time when she was two and I was three," Jon explained. "I couldn't really remember anything about this place."

"This just might be more impressive than my reflection," Jace said, casting Clary a sideways smirk as everyone else, even the ones who didn't get the inside joke, snorted.

"Come on," Jon said, jingling the keys in front of Simon's awestruck face. "Let's take a look around inside. There's enough space for everyone to have there own space. I refuse to have sickening nightmares because I find more than one person walking out of a room."

Clary snorted, "You mean like that time I caught Cam-"

"Not now, Clary," Jon cut her off hastily.

"Nah, Jon," Jace said, walking up behind her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, a crooked smirk that probably only he could pull off was twitching on his lips. "I wanna know what she has to say. It sounds kinda interesting."

Clary felt her cheeks flare lightly, and she stepped out of Jace's grip. Jon was glaring at Jace darkly, but couldn't hold the look long enough to have any effect. Her brother ended up cracking a smile, and said, "Come on, let's see what Clary and I don't remember."

**Soooo...how was it? Hopefully not too bad! Do you think you'd be interested in me continuing?**


	2. Chapter 2

**You guys are really so sweet! I jumped up and down every time that I got a review! Thank you so much!**

* * *

She slowly looked around the entrance hall. It was dusty, the wooden floors were covered with an ancient faded red rug, and the walls were tall; easily ten feet, with an arched threshold that lead into what was most likely the living room. Pictures lined the wall of the hallway. Some of them were portraits of what Clary figured were her ancestors from years and years ago. Then newer ones decorated the walls in between the large portraits. Photographs of Clary, Jon, her mother, and the man that she knew was her father.

Valentine Morgenstern looked almost exactly like Jonathan, white blonde hair, tanned skin, and muscular build. Their eyes were the only difference. Valentine's eyes were brown while Jon's were almost black.

"You were a cute kid, Clary," Sebastian commented, causing Clary to blush. He casted her a small wink and said, "Glad that hasn't changed."

"And what about me?" Jon asked, feigning hurt as he placed his hand over his heart.

"You're still drop dead gorgeous," Jace replied dryly. A small crease between his eyebrows.

"Aww, thanks, Jacey," Jon said, clapping him on the shoulder a bit more harshly than Clary thought was strictly a friendly pat on the back.

Clary left the others behind, while they were observing pictures and walked to the threshold, her fingers on the wall, trailing over intricately carved grooves in the wood. She peered through the walkway in wonder, and saw that there was an open air living room, reaching up to at least the second story of the house before flattening out. Small beams were spaced out to keep the roof standing, and a glass chandelier dangled down halfway, the glittering glass shards, reminded Clary of diamonds.

She stepped forward and saw a dusty wooden staircase against the wall left to the entrance. Compared to the rest of the room it seemed small, but it looked as though at least four people could stand shoulder to shoulder on the same step. It lead up to what she assumed was the bedroom floor. There was a balcony that stretched out maybe halfway over the living room, most likely giving people a stunning view of what was going on below. The kitchen was to the right. It was a large affair, with a huge stove, a fridge more than double the size of the Kenmore that she had at home, and various other trinkets that Clary had no idea how to use. She wasn't a very talented cook.

"You could get lost in a place like this, Red," Jace said, starling her as he walked up beside her. He was always so silent when he moved; his grace was catlike. Not something she would have associated with someone his size. "You're kinda small, you'd be hard to find."

"I don't know," Clary admitted. "You remember when we would play hide and seek when we were little?"

Jace nodded, a small smile coming to his face. "You could fit into some pretty cramped areas."

"My hair always stood out, though," Clary informed him. "It's so red."

"Yeah," Jace said, bidding her again. His smile got slightly wider, and he said, "I remember that."

"I always hated my hair," she said, unsure of why she was telling him something she was sure he already knew. "I kind of wish I had blonde, or brown."

"Nah," Jace said. "I like your hair."

Clary raised an eyebrow at him, "Was that a compliment?"

"What can I say," Jace said softly, taking yet another strand of her hair and twirling it between his fingertips. "I've always been a sucker for redheads."

Clary's heart was attempting to beat its way out of her chest. She swallowed the feeling, and said, "And I've always been a sucker for arrogant blonds."

"We're quite a match, aren't we?" Jace asked, a small smirk coming to his face.

"One made in heaven," she replied, desperately wanting the conversation, which was about to make her heart start pounding at light speed, to end, and then hoping it never did.

"Or hell," Magnus' voice rang from behind them.

The corner of Jace's mouth curved upward in a half smile. He didn't look away from Clary, who was starting to wish he would, because she didn't have it in her to break his gaze. "You'd know all about that, wouldn't you Magnus?"

Jace finally broke their staring contest to look up at Magnus, apparently keen on seeing what his wordplay had done. Clary followed his gaze and saw that her glittery friend was frowning at the blond, shaking his head. "That's the last time I show Alec any of my baby pictures!"

She saw Alec walking up behind Magnus, and he shot Jace an annoyed look and muttered something that rhymed with "_ducking glass mole_."

Clary snorted loudly, and looked at her sparkly friend, "What baby pictures?"

"You mean he hasn't told everyone about it, then?" Magnus asked, a sarcastic smile gracing his sharp features. "Great job, dear."

"I try," Alec replied dryly, his blue eyes rolling to the ceiling despite the fact that Magnus couldn't see him.

Clary managed a small smile at them as the others walked through the hall, and looked around in wonder. This was going to be an awesome trip.

* * *

Night was setting in and they had managed to explore most of the house. The attic remained untouched along with the basement. Clary claimed the room at the very end of the hallway, right next to the bathroom. It was a modest size, with a large and slightly dusty green rug in the middle, giving away the years of disuse. The bed was stripped and Clary had added her own soft blue sheets and puffy white pillows to it.

She had just finished gathering her things out of her suitcase and placing them in the dresser. She had a pair of white cotton pajama pants and a white tank top draped over one of her short arms, and a total clutched in the other. It was time to take a shower.

She marched out of her room, the thought of a steaming hot shower washing away all of the dirt and grime that was starting to feel sticky and nasty on her skin. As she closed her door behind her, the old hinges only giving a small creak of protest, she faintly heard an all too familiar giggle. It was coming from downstairs. Forgetting about the shower momentarily, she walked to the end of the long hallway, and came up to the balcony.

A smile managed to tug itself on her face. Simon and Isabelle were sitting side by side on the couch. He was sitting criss cross applesauce and Isabelle was facing him slightly; her legs were folded under her and she had her arms crossed over her chest as she smiled at him. As disgustingly adorable as it was to watch them hit on each other awkwardly, that shower was really calling her name.

She turned around, humming a random tune, feeling happy for her friends. She all but skipped back to the bathroom, and just as she was about to open the door, a solid force collided with her. She yelped in surprise, and squeezed her eyes shut tightly as she fell backward. She tensed, waiting for the hard impact of the ground...but that feeling never came. Instead, she felt a pair of muscular arms wrap around her and she felt herself being pulled quickly back into a standing position, but she was so off balance that she stumbled forward. The arms followed her, wrapping more and more tightly around her to keep her steady until she crashed into the same hard surface that caused her to fall in the first place, those arms still around her waist.

"You okay, Red?" Jace's alarmed voice caused the firm and slightly damp barrier that she was pressed against to vibrate slightly.

She stiffened even more, if that was even possible, as she realized exactly what predicament she was in. She pushed herself away from his chest and stumbled backward, her face feeling like it was the same temperature of the sun...possibly an understatement. Her eyes, which were already as wide as saucers, widened even more as she realized that Jace wasn't exactly what most people considered decent...though she could hardly complain about the view.

He was only in a towel, which was wrapped loosely around the lower part of his hips, showing off the taut muscles of his chest, his very well defined six pack, and the V of his hips. It was enough to make her mentally drool, and she was using all of her willpower to not physically do so as well. She caught a glimpse of the light blond hairs that ran from his bellybutton, disappearing under the towel. She only allowed herself a brief moment to take him in before abashedly looking away.

"Look," Jace said, a cocky tone coming to life in his voice. "If you wanted join me in the shower..."

The moment of amazement and disbelief was completely crushed, and the shame settled in. She had just been gawking at Jace Wayland. Other brain dead whores gawked at Jace, she stared at him in disgust and told him when he needed to kill a bit of his ego.

"Go away," Clary snapped at him, her cheeks were still hot, but it was from anger now. She wasn't mad at Jace for being perverted; it was normal for him. She was mad at herself for being so flustered. "I need to take a damn shower!"

"I imagine a cold one," Jace snickered, casting her a small wink as she glared at him in outrage. "I'm still up for joining you if you'd like."

"Okay," Clary said simply, walking through the bathroom threshold. She turned around to see an openly shocked look on Jace's handsome face.

"Did I just hear you right?" he demanded, she swore she could see hope shining almost imperceptibly in his eyes.

"Sure did," Clary replied, seriously, placing her hand on the knob. "You can join me...when hell freezes over," and with that said, she slammed the door in his face and felt slightly better about the whole situation.

She turned the light on, and just as she was placing her things on the large granite tile counter, she heard Jordan's deep voice, chuckling, "Somebody just struck out!"

"You clearly didn't see the way she was checking me out," Jace replied. "I never strike out."

Clary smiled to herself as she began to undress. It was the first time he hadn't teased her about staring when he actually did notice. It was progress, small progress considering the fact that he offered to join her in the shower, but progress all the same.

She heard the pattering of their footsteps as they walked away from the bathroom. Rolling her eyes, she forced her mind to clear itself of any disturbing thoughts about Jace, and began running the water.

* * *

**Review and tell me what you guys thought! I love you all! If you guys have any suggestions, let me know!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Forgot to say this before...I own nothing**

She woke up to sunlight shining through the window, effortlessly getting past the faded green drapes. Yawning, she slowly say up and stretched. She had slept wonderfully. Pushing her plush duvet off her legs, she rolled out of bed, and yawned again as her feet hit the rug. Not bothering to even look on the mirror that was hanging on the wall back wall of the room, she walked out the door. Everyone else was apparently already awake, sitting in the living room and chattering merrily to each other.

Isabelle, who was sitting in between Alec and Sebastian on the couch, smiled at her as she walked down the stairs. "Look who's finally up!"

Clary didn't respond, she just rubbed her left eye with a fist and yawned again. She was such a morning person.

"I'm going to take that as what's on the agenda for today, Iz?'" Isabelle declared.

Jordan snickered, from the floor in front of the red armchair that Maia was lounging in. "I'm sure it was probably more of a Jace related comment. Probably wants to know why he didn't join her in the sho-"

He was cut off as a large pillow hit him over the head, he let it knock him over and he was on the ground laughing. Everyone else, other than her and Jace looked at him with something between amusement and confusion. Clary felt her face heat up. Jace looked unaffected by the comment, but the pillow was a pretty good sign that it had gotten to him too.

"Jackass," Jace said under his breath, shaking his head.

"What is on the agenda, Iz?" Clary inquired, crossing her arms and leaning against the banister of the stairs, praying that they took the subject change without any resistance.

"We've got a lot of shopping to do," Izzy announced after a few seconds of awkward silence.

Success!

Jordan, who had managed to stop laughing so harshly, picked himself back up. His smirk was still on his face as he looked from Clary to Jace. "Where are we shopping?" he questioned.

"Today, since we're here for the entire summer, I figured we could go and get some food from the grocery store. Tomorrow, we can go about wardrobes. Girl's day out and a guy's day out," Isabelle said after a minute.

"Can any of us even cook?" Clary demanded. "Because if you think Isabelle is going to get anywhere near that stove-"

"Don't worry, little sister," Jonathan said. "We're not suicidal. I figured you knew Jace could cook."

Clary whipped her head around to look a Jon, who was sitting on the end of a large couch, his head resting on his hand. Magnus was beside him, and Alec was next to his boyfriend, with Jace sitting at the other end. Jace smirked at her and wiggled his fingers in her direction. "I'm a very talented guy."

"He'll attempt to poison our food," Clary declared immediately.

"Nah," Jace sighed. "I'd never do that...to most of you anyway."

"Well that's reassuring," Maia said, rolling her eyes.

Clary sighed, realizing that there was actually no place for her to sit. She just slid to the floor where she was standing and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the banister.

"Look," Jon said soothingly. "Sebastian, Jordan, Maia, and I are the only ones going to the store. The rest of you are staying here and disinfecting this house."

"Can't you take Jace with you?" Clary demanded, ignoring the fact that she sounded like a whining five year-old.

"What's so wrong with spending extra time with me?" Jace questioned. "Normally girls jump at the chance to be around something so stunningly attractive."

"My will power is weakening," she informed him dryly. "I must resist the temptation."

"Please don't try," Jace said, casting her a sly wink and a crooked grin. "Resisting me is a hard and unnecessary job."

Clary rolled her eyes and muttered the same phrase Alec had used to describe Jace the day before, and it was most certainly not "_Ducking glass mole_." Everyone else snorted loudly, and Jace shot her a grin.

Jace whistled, "Love it when you talk dirty to me, Red!"

"You do know that when I said '_resist temptation,_' I was talking about murdering you, right?" Clary asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically.

"I'm too gorgeous to die," Jace informed her cockily. "You would never think about depriving the world of such a work of art."

Clary shot him her best '_try me_' look. "I'd be doing it a favor."

"Clary," Jonathan said. "Can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

Clary froze, staring at Jon. He was not about to talk to her about what she thought he was going to talk to her about. She seriously considered saying no, but she had a feeling that he wouldn't take that answer. She opted to nod curtly and stand up. She childishly shot a glare at Jace while Jonathan had his back turned. He lead her into the kitchen, and leaned against the counter away from the prying eyes of the others, who were trying and failing to look as thought they weren't trying to catch some of the conversation.

"Can't you at least try getting along with him?" he asked.

Clary blinked dumbly at her beloved brother. To be honest, the preposterous thought had come to her head every once in a while, normally when she hadn't been around him in a long time, and she figures that he isn't as bad as she thought he was...and then he opens his mouth. Needless to say, she didn't see them being BFFs anytime in the near future.

"Are your eyes actually black, or do you have caps over them?" Clary demanded. "Because if you actually asked that question like it's my fault, then you're blind!"

"Calm down," Jon scolded her. "You're such a drama queen!"

"I thought I was just a fiery redhead," Clary shot back dryly.

"Explain how I'm supposed to go to Jace and tell him to try and get along with my sister," Jon snapped at her. "Now you know it'd sound weird."

"Asking me is any different?" Clary demanded.

"Clary," Jon sighed. "Just trust me. Getting along with Jace would make your life so much easier."

"You act like we really argue that much," Clary rolled her eyes. "Besides, he's a senior this year, and after that, you both'll probably go off to college continuing your disgusting bromance."

"Please, Clary," Jon said, looking at her with his lower lip jutting out slightly and trembling, and his normally creepy eyes looked huge and innocent. Why did he have to use to puppy dog look! He wasn't playing fair!

"Fine," she sighed. "You big oaf, I'll be nice."

The look immediately disappeared, and he was grinning at her. "You'll thank me later, sis."

"Somehow I doubt that very much," Clary informed him, fighting valiantly against his infectious smile.

He winked at her and said, "You always do."

_**~THEVACATION~**_

The moment that everyone that was leaving was out the door, she began questioning her decision. Izzy and Simon were smiling toothily at each other, and Isabelle announced that they were going to start cleaning the upstairs. As they walked up, Jace caster her a wink, which she immediately translated into _watch me embarrass our friends!_

Clary watched him wearily as he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Use protection you two!"

Clary inhaled sharply, somewhere between wanting to roll on the floor laughing, and smack him over the back of head. She settled for biting her lower lip in attempt to stifle the laughter that was swishing around in her stomach. From her spot by the threshold leading into the entrance hall, she couldn't see their faces, but the mental image that she conjured was enough to make her eyes slightly watery.

She heard Simon unleash some very intricate swear words before she heard the sound of footsteps traveling up again. Jace was chuckling lightly, and shaking his head. He turned and leveled his cheery golden gaze on her and said, "Why my sister likes that nerd I'll never understand."

"That nerd happens to be our friend," Clary reminded him sharply. "Or have you guys forgotten the past...twelve or so years?"

Jace rolled his eyes. "Just because we're friends doesn't mean that he isn't a nerd."

"You're impossible," she informed him. "You can't go any sort of time without being nice, can you?"

Jace shrugged, "Sure I can, I just choose to remain...diverse in the way I treat others."

"I'd tease you about the big word, but I already know you're too damn smart."

"Clarissa," Jace said, smirking. "I always knew you paid attention to me!"

"Whatever, Jace," Clary said rolling her eyes. "Let's get this house clean, because I'm not listening to any innuendos that Jordan decides to come up with because the house is untouched."

"You worried that they might eventually come true?" Jace asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"In your dreams," Clary scoffed, shaking her head and walking toward the kitchen.

She heard Jace murmur something that she clearly wasn't meant to hear. It sounded a lot like, "You have no idea."

**I have some humor and Clace moments coming in the next chapter...once I write it, of course. Your reviews make my day! If I could respond to each and everyone of them, I would...wifi isn't that kind to me right now. The reason that this is pegged under mystery is going to be revealed soon. I think that's all! Review on your way out!**


	4. Chapter 4

Clary had just began dusting off the empty cabinets when she heard the sound of rushed footsteps across the wooden floor. Jace had literally sprinted into the kitchen. He had apparently misjudged his momentum and waited too long to stop. He crashed into her and they both went tumbling down.

Jace, in a unnatural act of gentlemanliness, twisted them around so that she was on top of him and he took the entire brunt of the impact. She heard the loud _thud_ of his head hitting the granite tile and winced as the thought of the pain raced through her head.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, rolling off him and scrambling forward to his head. "Are you okay?"

He just groaned in response. Clary lifted his head in her lap. "Jace?" she asked worriedly.

"You actually called me Jace," he groaned.

"Should I call a doctor?" Clary questioned nervously.

"I'm fine," Jace said, his voice coming out less forcedly. "Sorry about slamming into you."

"Why were you running?" Clary asked, not realizing that she was running her hands through his silky blond hair.

"I...it took me a minute to realize what you called me," he admitted, biting his lower lip, as he looked up at her. She was reminded of a child who was waiting to be scolded.

"Me calling you Jace seems to be dangerous," she observed. "Maybe I should call you Wayland-"

"No," he said quickly, letting go of his lip and pulling his mouth into his signature crooked smile. "I like it when you call me Jace."

Clary's mouth felt a little dry, and she suddenly became very aware of her fingers running though his golden strands, and of his head resting peacefully in her lap. She stopped her hand and awkwardly sat it on the floor beside her.

"We-we should probably start cleaning," she said quietly.

Jace blinked and seemed to snap out of whatever blissful daze he had been in moments before. "Yeah," he replied, sitting up and getting to his feet slowly. "You're okay, right?" he asked as he held his hand out to her.

She stared at it wearily for a moment, wondering if he was going to pull that same stupid trick he did when they were smaller and let her hand go as she was rising. Mentally backhanding the thought out of her head, she managed a small smile at him and nodded, as she wrapped her hand around his and let him pull her to her feet.

"For the love of God, Wayland," Clary scolded as she watched him wipe off a window with a watery rag. There were streaks everywhere still.

"I thought you were going to call me Jace," the blond challenged, crossing his arms over his chest like an extremely good looking five year old.

Clary rolled her eyes, "Fine. Fore the love of God, _Jace_! Better?"

"Much," Jace replied, his face was serious, but there was an amused glint in his eyes that let Clary know that he was thoroughly enjoying himself. "You've got something against the way I clean?"

"I know you clean better than that!" Clary said, snapping her index finger in the direction of the window, where light was trying to shine though the dirty streaks of dirt. "Your room is immaculate!"

Jace just smiled crookedly at her and Clary realized something. "You're doing this to piss me off, aren't you?"

"Yes," he admitted shrugging.

"Why?" Clary demanded, as she started dusting off a small wooden table, which was holding pictures of a handsome man with black hair and blue eyes.

"You're cute when you're angry," Jace replied, his voice making it sound as though he was just commenting on the weather.

Clary froze and spun around, her heart was beating slightly harsher than normal, and her cheeks felt ad though they were on fire. "Don't joke around about things like that, Jace," she replied. "One day I might just think you're serious."

Jace rolled his eyes, and said. "I wasn't joking, Clary."

Clary swallowed, as she looked at him. It was the first time in years he had called her by her first name. Her heart stuttered in her chest, and suddenly she felt like she needed to get away from him and clear her head. She didn't know why she was acting all fluttery and jumpy, but she really needed to snap out of it before Jace got the wrong idea

She adverted her eyes meekly from his gaze and started dusting at the table again. Jace had just started wiping at the window again, this time actually cleaning it, when Clary finished with the table. She moved on to the next object, which was a door. She placed her hand on the brass knob, about to see what was inside, when a larger hand with long and thin fingers closed around hers.

"Let's stick with just the hallway for right now," Jace said.

Clary turned around and, with a start, realized that he was a lot closer than she had anticipated. She was looking at his chest, and her eyes slowly slid up until she was looking at him. He was smiling at her, but something seemed to be more strained about it than normal. She must have really hurt him with that _no joking_ comment.

"O-okay," she said after taking in a large breath, which was filled with the scent of his cologne. It didn't do much to clear her head.

She waited stiffly for him to move out of her personal space.

Jace, seeming to sense her discomfort, complied and backed away. "Let's go, Red, something tells me that Jon insinuating that we were doing the same they that I insinuated that Simon and Isabelle were doing would tick you off...especially in front of Seb."

And just like that, he was no longer that fun and happy Jace that she was just getting along with. He was cold and distant.

She and Isabelle were sitting on the plush black loveseat in the living room. The chandelier light was on, and it was even prettier than Clary thought it was going to be. Simon and Jace had gone outside, claiming that it was their _manly duty _as men to start cleaning out the pool, and that the _fair maidens _weren't to push themselves any more than they already had to help. They had actually said most of that exactly. Clary could barely tell that there was anything wrong with Jace...but there was, and she couldn't put her finger on what it would be.

Isabelle, who had been quiet for the most part, asked, "What's got you so distracted?"

"Hm?" Clary questioned, only half listening.

"I've been trying to ask you a question about Simon for the past half hour and you've been in lala land," Isabelle informed her.

"Sorry," Clary mumbled. "I've just been thinking."

"About?" Isabelle prompted, crossing her legs as she leaned back and sat on her hip slightly so that she was facing her.

Clary didn't know what to say; she couldn't even look Isabelle in the eye, thinking of what was bothering her. God, it was _Jace_, of all people it was just Jace Wayland!

"Was it Jace?" she questioned, always a freaking mind reader!

"Why would it be Jace?" Clary asked, raising her eyebrow, trying to evade the question with one of her own. Sadly, from the look on Isabelle's face, the look on Clary's was giving her away.

"Something's bothering him too," she replied softly. "I figured that, since you both were cleaning downstairs for the morning, something might have happened."

"I don't think anything's particularly wrong," Clary sighed, rubbing her hands over her face. "I think he's just mad at me."

Izzy frowned slightly and asked, "Why?"

Clary flushed lightly and just shook her head. "It's nothing."

Isabelle favored her with an eye roll. "When Simon walked in on me while I was changing and stood there gawking, I told you. I think it's only fair that you tell me."

"And if I don't wanna?" Clary demanded.

"Then I go to Jace," she said simply. "I imagine you trust him to tell me the correct story as much as I do, but if he's the only one I have to get the gossip from..." she trailed off, letting Clary know that she'd have no choice but to believe that blond haired devil.

"He has a…personal space issue," Clary said, unable to come up with a better way to phrase what happened. "But I think he was already kind of angry because I didn't believe him when he told me something. I...Jace is probably just suffering from a wounded ego because I know better than to listen to any pretty compliment that he has to say."

Isabelle sighed. "Jace is a big boy," she shrugged, "I'm sure he'll live. A bit of minor rejection should do him some good."

"Doesn't he already have a girlfriend, anyway?" Clary demanded.

"You mean Aline?" Isabelle questioned; the way she said her name lead Clary to believe that they weren't exactly the best of friends.

"Yeah, that one," Clary nodded.

"She broke up with him," Isabelle said, a smirk coming to her face. "Two bouts of rejection within a week, no wonder he seems put out. Then again, Aline doesn't really have a _guy_ type, if you catch my drift."

"Makes sense," Clary nodded, a small smile coming to her face. "Normally girls won't just break up with Jace Wayland."

"And normally girls don't reject him," Isabelle countered.

"I didn't reject him," Clary said, realizing what that would insinuate. "He doesn't feel that way about me, and I don't feel that way about him."

"You're sure about that?" Isabelle questioned, arms crossed over her chest as she looked at Clary closely, as if she was trying to pull something out of her, though she wasn't entirely sure what.

Clary looked right back at Isabelle, her eyebrows raised, "Why would you even have to ask that?"

"No reason, Clary," Isabelle responded, her voice sounded almost normal, but there was a small drip of something that sounded almost like disappointment in it.

**Hey! I am so frustrated because I can't get the book yet! So this is the way I'm dealing with it...no spoilers please! Thank you all who reviewed! You're all awesome!**


	5. Chapter 5

There were very few moments when Clary was nervous. She was familiar with fear, embarrassment, excitement, and any other emotion that would get her heart to attempt to beat its way out of her chest. She was not familiar with nervousness, and it was not a fun emotion to have. When Jace attacked Sebastian, she felt nothing but nervousness.

The events that lead up to it made no sense, but apparently in Jace's guy mind, it was crystal clear.

It all started after Clary and Isabelle had finished their awkward conversation about Clary and Jace's nonexistent relationship. Simon and Jace had trooped back inside, both shirtless and glistening with sweat and water.

Clary carefully focused her eyes on Isabelle, but the way she was looking at Simon made it almost painful to watch. Her only other option was Jace, which wasn't really an option at all. She was about to make a stupid excuse to go and hide in her room, when she heard the sound of car doors slamming.

She tripped over herself getting to her feet and rushing out of the room and into the entrance hall. She heard the others trailing behind her much more slowly, but she didn't care as long as she got away from Jace.

The door opened just as she was about to turn the knob. She stepped backward and knocked into someone. The familiar whine of '_ouch_!' came next. Was it bad that she was relieved that she hurt her best friend instead of Jace?

She stepped to the side, mumbling a sorry and watched her brother, Jordan, Maia, and Sebastian lug in groceries. Sebastian casted her a small wink as he walked by, a smirk set on his face. It wasn't until much, much later that she realized who that smirk was shot at.

"Why're you lazy idiots standing around? Especially you, Jace! Quit gawking at my sister and get some groceries from the car!" Jon commanded.

"Where're Magnus and Alec?" Jordan questioned.

Clary blinked. That was a great question, she hadn't seen them since before the others had left for the store. "They probably ditched us for a romantic walk through the forest," Jace said dryly. "And I wasn't gawking at your sister, Fray."

As she walked out of the house, she saw Maia cuff Jordan over the head, and Sebastian cast him a sharp look. She shrugged, Jordan was ways doing something stupid.

They all trooped out to the car and picked up the groceries out of the trunk. Clary was about to reach for a plastic bag with a few bottles of soft drinks in it when Jace beat her to it. "No need to strain yourself with anything heavy," he told her, winking slyly. "You can carry the bread in."

Clary sent him a '_really?_' glance, which he did not see because he was too busy walking away. She swore if Jace didn't stop acting like himself, she was going to scream. He went from happy, warm, and inviting (extremely so), to icy cold with a snap of a finger, and apparently vice versa.

She followed Jace back into the house along with Izzy and Simon, but, since they were acting like they were in their own little world, she might as well have been by herself. When they got to the kitchen, everyone was walking around with random items of food in their hands, seeming lost.

Clary sighed, smiling slightly. Time to get to work.

* * *

_She found herself in a large room, there was a beautiful domed ceiling with paintings of various angles on it. Along the brick walls, there were torches lighting everything up with flickering brightness. Two people were standing in the front of the room beside what looked to be a throne._

_One woman she recognized, but only just. She had long red hair, and resembled her close sly, except Clary felt as if she was much prettier. It was her mother. She was speaking to a tall, muscular, bespectacled man with messy brown hair and blue eyes. Luke. Both of them were dressed in black, with weapons fitted around their waist and attached to their backs. _

_"We can't stay here," her mother said firmly._

_"I know, Jocelyn," Luke sighed, visibly agitated. He began pacing back and forth. "We'll figure this out."_

_"She isn't ready, she'll never be ready. Her father would...he's a monster!" her mother almost collapsed, tears pouring out of her eyes as she clung to Luke, sniffling. _

_Luke held her, rubbing her back soothingly. "Don't worry, we…we can leave soon."_

_"Will she ever be safe?" her mother asked weakly._

_Luke seemed to hold her even tighter. There was a look of love and utter devotion in her eyes. It was the same look that they both shared outside of her dreams. "Yes, Jocelyn, she will be completely safe."_

_There was a change in the look in his eyes. He was lying._

* * *

She woke up gasping for breath. Sweat made her clothes cling to her and she was shivering. That was officially the strangest dream that she had ever had.

She looked around the room, noting that the sun wasn't even over the horizon yet, though the sky was starting to lighten slightly. Realizing that there was no real point in going back to sleep, she scooted out of bed and walked out of the room.

"Clary?" Maia's voice rang from down the hallway.

Clary looked over and saw that she and Sebastian were standing in the hallway. They had probably been talking quietly, and she had just succeeded in interrupting them.

"God, are you okay?" Sebastian questioned worriedly. He walked toward her, and she just looked at him dumbly as he got closer.

She felt her hair being tucked behind her ear as he cupped her face in his hand. He was looking at her with a small and worried frown. "I'm fine, Seb," she said, her voice coming out scratchy.

"You're pale, and sweaty," he murmured. "Did you get sick, or-"

"No," she said, smiling reassuringly. "Just had a strange dream."

He held on to her face for another few seconds, just looking at her before he sighed and let her go, stepping back and asked, "Do you want some breakfast? Coffee?"

"I'm fine, really," she assured him. "You don't need to-"

"I want to," he informed her, his smile making her heart stutter slightly. "C'mon, Clare-Bear, I'm not going to poison you."

"Okay," Clary relented, a grudging smile coming to her face. She slowly followed him downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Where did Maia go?" Clary asked, looking around her, suddenly realizing that her muscular friend was no longer around.

"Probably back to bed," Sebastian replied. "I saw her go back into her room."

"Sebastian, if you're tired you should go to bed; don't stay up because-"

"It's fine, Clary," Sebastian assured her, gesturing for her to sit on one of the stools that were behind the marble topped island. "I want to."

Clary felt herself flushing slightly, as he looked at her expectantly, leaning on the opposite side of the counter, clasping his hands together. "What would you like to eat?"

"Can you even cook?" Clary asked, a small smile on her face.

"Of course," Sebastian said. He shook his head and rolling his eyes good naturedly. "Jace isn't the only talented one. He's just the only one blatant about it," Sebastian informed her, a crooked grin forming in on his face. "You like it."

Clary blinked uncomprehendingly at her dark haired friend. He smirked slyly at her and said, "I know what a girl looks like when she's looking at a guy she likes." He shrugged, "Tell me you don't look at Jace that way."

"I don't," she said, frowning slightly as she thought. She looked at Sebastian like that...right?

Sebastian looked at her with a raised eyebrow and said, "Please, Clary. You guys are perfect for each other."

"What are you?" Clary demanded. "His wingman?"

"Nah," Sebastian said, shrugging, "Wayland doesn't need a wingman."

"What he needs is for someone to murder that swollen ego of his," Clary muttered, rolling her eyes.

"He wouldn't be Jace without it," Sebastian informed her. "He likes you, Clary, you know that, right?"

"I think you all enjoy hallucinating too much," Clary informed him firmly. "He doesn't like me."

Sebastian smirked at her, and said, "Yeah, he does. Would you like a demonstration?"

Clary blinked at him curiously. Before she could so much as open her mouth to get a syllable out, Sebastian was there, his mouth lightly covering hers.

Her heart stuttered and picked up into overdrive, as he kissed her softly, one if his hands cupped her face while his free arm snaked around her waist.

She wasn't exactly experienced when it came to kissing anybody, so she clumsily tried to follow his lead. Her hands were resting on his shoulders, and her mind was racing with empty thoughts. She knew that she was supposed to be confused, but she really couldn't remember what she was supposed to be confused by...

Then his lips were gone, violently torn away from hers. It was Jace that had Sebastian by the front of his sleeping shirt. Jace's hair was still messy, telling Clary that he had gotten up moments before.

"What do you think you're doing, Verlac?" Jace demanded. "You mention to her that you already have a girlfriend?"

"Calm down, Jace," Sebastian said, raising his hands. "It's not that big of a deal!"

"The hell if using her isn't that big of a deal!" Jace growled; his golden eyes were murderous. Clary knew that she should probably intervene, but she was too shocked to move. "I always thought you were a decent guy."

"You're just jealous because she likes me more than yo-"

Sebastian never finished that sentence, because Jace swung his fist around and caught him on the jaw.

Clary jumped from her seat as soon as Sebastian stumbled backward, holding the side of his face and wincing slightly.

"Take it back before I kick your-"

_"Jace!"_ Clary cut him off, stepping in front of him, alarmed with the intensity of his anger.

"What are you doing?" Clary demanded. "Sebastian wasn't doing anything wrong!"

"He just kissed you!" Jace snapped, his glare turned even more dangerous. "Apparently you're no better! You know he has a girlfriend! God, Clary, he's using you, and you're either too naive, or innocent to realize it."

Clary felt her heart racing as he glared at her angrily. "Leave her alone, Jace," Sebastian growled from behind her.

"And what are you going to do about it if I don't, Seb?" Jace asked, never taking his eyes off Clary.

"Let's not find out," Clary said, suddenly feeling aggravated. Jace had no right hitting Sebastian! So what if he kissed her? Sure, it wasn't exactly honest...he had a girlfriend, and she wasn't about be become a homewrecker, but she could have handled it on her own!

"I was just trying to prove a point to Clary," Sebastian said, placing his hand on Jace's tensed shoulder. "There's no reason for you to flip out. Calm down. Nothing's going on between us."

Jace looked as though he was about to break Sebastian's hand for a second before he relaxed slightly. He looked at Clary, as if asking for confirmation. Clary slowly nodded in agreement to what Sebastian was saying.

Jace closed his eyes and sighed, all of the tension immediately leaving his body. "Next time you're trying to prove something, don't swap spit with her in the middle of the kitchen."

"I'm standing right here!" Clary said indignantly.

Jace casted her a weak smirk and said, "Not my fault that you're so short. People tend to not see you unless they're looking down."

There he went, once again, with his hot to cold emotions.

* * *

"He did what?" Isabelle said, her expression looked somewhere between horror and amusement.

They were inside of some stupid shopping mall. It was packed full of loud and obnoxious weirdos. Clary had gotten shoved, pushed, almost trampled, and felt up so many times that she was about to snap. Worst girls day out _ever_.

She was in the middle of telling Isabelle, Maia, and Magnus, who decided that he'd rather go shopping for clothes than sporting gear, what they had missed that morning.

"I think he actually lost his mind," Clary said, running the fingers of her right hand through her curly red hair, wincing as she came across a knot.

"You know, Jace is pretty levelheaded all the time," Maia said. "I've never really seen him angry before."

Clary looked at a few of the strange people passing her by. Girls with neon colored hair, heels from hell that would give even Isabelle a run for her money, and she even saw a guy with strange black tattoos covering his arms.

"Trust me," Isabelle said to Maia, "You don't want to."

"Can't be all that bad having Jace, of all people, looking out for you," Magnus said. "I'm not a fan of blonds myself, but he's not bad looking."

"That's Magnus for, _'If I wasn't in love with Alec, I'd jump him,'"_ Isabelle said snickering slightly.

"I don't know if I'd go that far," Magnus said thoughtfully. Clary couldn't believe that he was actually considering the statement!

"Clary," Maia said slowly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You look like you're about to lose your lunch..."

"That's the beautiful look of jealousy," Magnus sighed, actually pleased with himself.

"No," Clary said, shuddering, "that's the look people get when they imagine you '_jumping_' Jace."

"I figured you'd find it hot," Magnus said; a small amount of dry humor coated his voice.

"Not my thing," Clary replied, fighting off a smile while Maia and Isabelle laughed lowly. "Pervert."

Magnus winked at Clary and said, "If you only knew."

"Honestly, I don't think I _want_ to know," Clary said, finally laughing lightly.

"Want to know what?" a familiar voice said from behind them.

Clary turned around and saw Jonathan and the others behind him. Her brother, the one who had spoken, was looking at her with amusement, and slight curiosity.

"About my sexual escapades," Magnus said breezily. "Hello, Alexander, are you having fun?"

Magnus walked over and kissed Alec briefly on the lips before placing an arm around the middle of his back.

She heard Jace mutter something under his breath about _disgusting PDAs_ and had to fight back a small snort of laughter.

"Aren't you supposed to be having a guy's day out?" Izzy demanded. "How can I set Clary up with anyone with all of you guys around? You're all buff, tall, and intimidating!"

"I think she just complimented us," Jordan said slowly, scratching the back of his head as he looked at her with a small and confused frown.

Sebastian snorted and shook his head. "I don't think it was intended as anything other than 'go away, you're annoying'."

"You know me so well," Izzy stated dryly. "I hope you've gotten the message. Now leave!"

She noticed that the only person who really hadn't contributed to the conversation was Jace. He was looking toward the ground, hands shoved in his shorts pockets, with a neutral expression on his face, but she thought that his eyes glinted a bit harshly.

"By all means," Clary said, feeling a pang in her heart that was completely foreign to her when she saw Jace the way he looked, "stay with us."

"Don't be like that," Isabelle reprimanded. "You know it's inevitable! You really need to use some of your god given feminine superiority."

Clary looked down at herself. Short, pale, redheaded, plane tee shirt with a splatter pain design, and a pair of holy jeans.

She looked at Isabelle, who was looking at her expectantly. Remaining silent, she turned her gaze toward Jace, who had stopped his staring contest with the ground to look at her with a strange expression.

"Iz," Jace said. "If she doesn't want to find a boy toy today, she doesn't have to."

The Isabelle that Clary knew would have snapped at Jace to stay out of her business and dragged Clary on her merry way. That wasn't what happened. Isabelle blinked and looked at Jace, who was staring at her with a small frown.

Isabelle nodded her head slightly toward him and stepped to the side, her eyes diverted to the floor. Before Clary could ask Isabelle what was wrong, Jonathan was already speaking. "Well, if you're not searching for guys, then what have you done all day?"

"I got a few books," Clary said, gesturing to the small bag that she was carrying with her left hand.

"I can carry that," Jace offered.

Before Clary could protest, he had already leaned forward and plucked it out of her grip. "No need to let a lady carry something around when I have my hands empty."

"You know, Jordan," Maia said a smile in her voice. "Jace is making you look bad."

Clary hadn't taken her eyes off the blond boy in front of her...and not her brother. He was smiling crookedly at her, his golden eyes only diverted briefly to look at Jordan and Simon, who both jumped forward simultaneously to grab Maia's and Isabelle's bags.

While he was looking at the two lovestruck boys hastily grabbing at the girls' shopping bags, she looked at Sebastian, who casted her a small smirk and a conspirational wink.

Clary knew that nothing romantic was going on, and she believed that nothing romantic would ever go on between her and Sebastian any more than she thought would happen with her and Alec, no matter how cute he was. What she wanted to know was what was going on with him, just like she wanted to know what was going on with Jace.

* * *

**Lemme tell you guys how much I love you: I have the city of heavenly fire, and I took a break from reading it to write this. And, since it took so long to update, I lengthened it.**

**Does anyone have any clue as to what is going on? And gotta love protective Jace!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I tried! I tried so hard to center the POV around one person...I suck at it. So, I caved. This chapter is in Jace's POV.**

If jealousy was in the Olympics, he would have won a golden medal. The was Clary was looking at Sebastian made him almost sick with it. He wasn't a possessive person by any means, but she never looked at him like that. They were born for each other. Literally.

He never wanted to like her. He fought against the feelings, and the harder he fought, the harder he fell.

Jon never really paid attention to the way that he looked at Clary until he found out the truth. He never said anything until he found out about the house, and about what was behind that door.

That was all running through his head as he grabbed Clary's bag from her hand. She was looking at him with an unreadable expression. He couldn't tell if she was pleased or annoyed. He was hopping for the former if he was being entirely honest.

He felt a small bubble of smugness form inside of him as he saw Simon and Jordan grab Isabelle and Maia's bags. He smirked, but the good feeling was evaporated as he saw a familiar head of silvery hair.

Jace blinked hard, hoping he was just seeing things. He wasn't. James Carstairs, Jem, was rushing toward them. "The hell's he doing here?" Jace asked unthinkingly.

Clary and the others were looking at him inquisitively and trying to follow his gaze. "You guys wait here," Jace ordered. "I'll be right back."

Jace rushed off, most likely leaving everybody completely confused. He shoved past groups of weirdos and nerds, not even bothering to stop and apologize. Jem was running so fast that they both collided into each other in the middle of the food court. Jace gripped him by the shoulders firmly and steadied them both. Jem was a tall guy with silvery hair, silver eyes, and pale skin.

"What's going on?"

Jem held up a hand, silencing him for a second as he began coughing violently. He doubled over for a moment as his body shook with the painful noise. As he straightened up, Jace saw a small amount of blood on his hand. If Jem noticed, he didn't show it.

"We're in trouble," he said, his voice was hoarse. "They...they attacked Alicante."

"It's happened before," Jace said, his heart beginning to sink. "We've managed to fend them off before. What's different now?"

"They did the attack as a distraction," he said. Jem was always calm and collected. It was no different now, but Jace could see the small spark of distress in his eyes. He was freaking out on the inside. "Valentine's out."

Jace heard his breath hitch slightly, not believing his ears. He didn't bother asking Jem the details. That could be covered later.

"Will?" he asked.

Jem sighed, "He's fine. The bloody idiot knew he was going to be a target, being a Herondale and all, and he fought against them anyway. Tessa was fixing him up right now."

Feeling his worry lessen fractionally, he said, "We need to keep Clary safe-"

"That's the reason that I'm here," Jem said, placing a thin, long fingered hand on his shoulder, "Charlotte said bring her in."

"Into Alicante?" Jace demanded, looking at Jem with wide eyes. "That sickness of yours has finally caused you to jump off the deep end, hasn't it?"

"To the institute," Jem said placatingly. "It's safer for her to be there than even in this..." Jem looked around as he contemplated a good word to use, "dimension."

"She doesn't know anything about that place," Jace protested. "How can you possibly-"

"It's not as if we have a choice," Jem said, starting to sound a bit impatient. "If Valentine finds her, then we've lost."

"You don't think I know that?" Jace asked sharply. "I'm not stupid, Jem."

His friend nodded, "I'm aware. Jocelyn has already been informed. She's on her way, but she probably won't be here for another day."

"Come on," Jace said, gesturing for Jem to follow.

Elbowing his way through crowds again, he made his way back to his friends. He only half heard Jem apologizing to others on his behalf. He heard him muttering profanities about Herondales as they came up.

"We've got problems," Jace announced, grabbing Jon by the shoulder as he did so.

"What?" Sebastian demanded, looking at Jem wearily.

"We need to get back to the house. Now." Jem said, his voice grave.

* * *

While they were in the car, Jace sat beside Clary, casting a dark look at Sebastian, who apparently thought that he was going to instead. Isabelle was on her other side as Jem and Jon both rode in the front.

Clary, who had been in a shocked silence up until then, said, "Does anyone mind explaining to me exactly what the hell is going on? And who is he?" she pointed at Jem.

"He's a close family friend," Jace replied. "And it's complicated. If you can hold off until we get back, I can show you."

Clary looked at him with narrowed searching green eyes. A strand of her red hair had fallen from behind her ear, and he tucked it back into place without really thinking. He could tell that she didn't like the idea of waiting, but she must have realized that she didn't have a choice. She nodded slowly as he placed his hand back on his lap.

He silently wondered how badly she was going to freak out once everything happened. This was the only reason that he resented Jocelyn. She shouldn't have hidden Clary from everything. She was going to be totally unprepared for what was coming next.

**I hope you don't mind me throwing in TID chracters...I will probably end up making this into a crossover. I could keep this in this fandom if you guys would prefer...can you leave a review telling me if you want me to move it to the crossover section?**

**Lastly: yes this chapter was supposed to be vague and confusing...this short...meh not really, but hopefully the next chapter will be longer...and answer people's confused question.**


	7. Chapter 7

**We're back with Clary's POV!**

* * *

When they got to the house, she was ushered inside with Jace holding her hand with an iron like grip. It was slightly uncomfortable, but it didn't really hurt. No one said anything to her as the group of them marched inside. Jem, an extremely handsome boy that looked to be the same age of Jace, and seemed to have a British accent.

He seemed pleasant enough, but his presence seemed to put everyone on edge. He was leading the way through the house as if he was used to being there. He lead them through the large living room and into the hallway that was on the opposite side of the room from the staircase.

The group of them came to an abrupt stop at a door. Clary looked around in confusion, trying to remember what was in the room that was so vital. She saw the table beside the door, the one with a picture of a handsome guy with black hair and blue eyes. It was the same room that Jace wouldn't let her inside of the day before...of course she had been a bit too preoccupied thinking about the lack of distance between them to really think too hard on why he wouldn't want her clean the room out.

"Look, Clary," Jace said, squeezing her hand reassuringly as he turned to look at her. "You trust us, right?"

Clary stared at him, an uncharacteristic expression of seriousness crossed his features and caused Clary's heart to start pounding again. She was actually starting to go from worried to frightened.

"I trust you," she said softly. "Though I would still feel better if I knew what was going on."

"Clary," it was Jem who was addressing her. His smile was a calm and immediately comforting one. "There are strange things in the world, okay? Once we've gotten you to where you'll be safe, I promise that I will sit with Jace and we can both explain everything."

"What do you mean 'safe'?" Clary asked, alarmed. "Why wouldn't I be safe here?"

"All a part of the explanation," Jace assured her, nodding to Jem to open the door.

Clary felt herself gripping Jace's hand harshly as she gulped audibly.

"Don't be scared," he whispered, smiling kindly at her. "There's nothing to be worried about."

She nodded nervously, and he intertwined their fingers. "Let's go."

Jace pulled her through the door, and whatever Clary was suspecting...well, it wasn't what she got. She was in a large hallway of grey brick. Different tapestries were hung everywhere, all were decorated with different symbols.

She wondered if they were in a different wing of the house that she didn't know about. Something deep down told her that she wasn't in the house anymore.

That was a preposterous thought, really.

She looked around again, and saw wooden doors lining the walls, and portraits hanging in between them. They were not familiar people.

"Come on, Clare-Bear," Jace urged. "I'll give you a tour when everything's been explained."

Clary felt the nickname sooth her more than she thought it would have. She felt her shoulders loose some of their tenseness. She just realized that Jon was on her other side when he placed a hand on her shoulder. Feeling slightly embarrassed by paying so much attention to Jace, she flushed before sending her brother a brave smile. She hoped that he couldn't see the nervousness through it.

As they walked through the hallway, their footsteps echoed through the air. She felt small and insignificant in such a large place. It felt like she was in a castle.

Jem, who was in front of all of them, pushed open a large door at the end of the hall. It was a large room with an empty fireplace, windows casting natural light inside, and numerous large chairs, sofas, and love seats. All of them looked plush and comfortable.

A short woman with brown hair, and a pinched face was sitting in a chair next to a round coffee table. She wss wearing all black, and she was taking a drink out of a white mug as they walked inside. She set her cup down and smiled warmly at them.

"Hello, please take a seat," she said, flourishing her hand to the numerous available seats. "I imagine you would like an explanation, Ms. Fray," she said looking at Clary with a kind smile.

Clary nodded, "Yes please."

"Well, make yourself comfortable, Sophie is going to bring some tea to us soon, and we can all discuss this comfortably."

Clary felt Jace tug on her arm, and she ended up sitting between him and Jon on a loveseat. It was too small for the three of them, but she hardly minded the closeness. It was comforting.

Jems was standing a few steps behind Charlotte's chair, his silvery features almost seemed to glow; Simon, Izzy, and Sebastian had taken over the couch next to the loveseat, Magnus was seated across the room from the short woman, Alec was perched on the armrest of the chair, the two of them holding hands, and Jordan and Maia were sitting on the other loveseat.

"My name's Charlotte, by the way," the woman said kindly. "Sorry for not introducing myself before. That was terribly rude of me."

"It's fine," Clary said.

The door opened again and a tall, thin girl around her age walked inside carrying a tray with several cups and a teakettle. She imagined that it was Sophie. She had curly brown hair, and was absolutely beautiful...until she turned slightly to set the tray down on the table in front oof Charlotte. There was a large scar running the length of her cheek, disfiguring it terribly.

"Master Will asked me to ask you to wait a moment before beginning your meeting, Mrs Branwell," she said. "He was on his way when I left and should be here momentarily with Ms. Grey."

Charlotte nodded, and Clary heard Jace chuckle. "You get to meet my cousin," he said to her. "He can be a bit arrogant, but he's really a great guy."

Clary blinked. How bad did someone have to be for Jace, of all people, to call them arrogant?

"Sorry we're late!" a voice said as the door opened again. Clary looked over, and saw two people hurriedly walk into the room. One was a tall girl with curly brown hair, grey blue eyes, and a pretty, friendly face. The other was a guy; he was beautiful. His face was all planes and angles, he had ruffled black hair and eyes as blue as the sky. She could tell that this was Jace's cousin, there was definitely family resemblance. She completely understood how he could be arrogant. Any girl, including herself, would drool over him.

"Clary, this is William Herondale-" Jem said, only to be cut off.

"Just call me Will, everyone does," he said with a wave of his hand and a brilliant smile.

"This is Tessa Grey," Jem continued as if there had been no interruption.

She smiled at Clary, who waved at both of them, feeling slightly overwhelmed.

"Have we missed anything?" Will questioned.

"No," Magnus said, a small smile playing at his lips, "We were all too busy despairing over your absence."

"Ah," Will said, taking the jibe goodnaturedly, "makes sense, I am extraordinarily attractive. You guys would miss me that badly."

"Your ego kills it," Isabelle informed him dryly.

Clary realized that everyone here knew everyone else. She felt slightly upset that she was kept in the dark about...whatever was going on.

"Let's get back on track," Jon said, "Clary deserves some answers."

"Should we start from the beginning?" Maia inquired.

"It's a dreadfully long story," Will said dramatically, as he walked over and stood beside Jem.

"I imagine I've got the time," Clary replied, starting to feel impatient.

"Very well," Jace sighed. "Why don't we start with where you actually are?"

* * *

**And another short chapter...at least the update was nice and fast. The next chapter is an explanation for everything that has probably been mystifying everyone. If anyone has any guesses to what is happening, or going to happen...or any suggestions, feel free to share them. I'm always open to ideas!**

**You guys are officially awesome! I have 47 reviews in 6 chapters! I love you all. 65 follows and 27 favorites! All of you are completely freaking awesome! You all make me feel special :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Clary looked around the room, and it was Izzy that spoke first. "Listen to everything before you start asking questions, okay?" she asked as she crossed her legs at her ankles and clasped her hands together, reminding Clary slightly of a therapist.

Clary nodded mutely and sat back with her arms crossed. It was her silent gesture for them to continue.

"I guess we ought to welcome you to Alicante," Will said, his blue eyes sparkling merrily. "It's my home," he pointed to his chest, "their home," he pointed to everyone around her in the room, "and, it's also where you're originally from."

Clary swallowed back her questions, and nodded curtly, gesturing for them to continue.

"Years before we were all born," Jace said, clasping his hands together and leaning back with her, "there was a king of Alicante named Raziel. He was an amazing ruler, and Alicante prospered, but the man that he named heir was oppressive."

"It was our father," Jon said from her other side. "He ruled for maybe ten years married to our mother. Raziel, who had given the throne up early so he could enjoy the rest of his life in peace, didn't like the way things were going in the kingdom. He knew that Valentine was a weak ruler. Raziel demanded that Valentine give up the throne, and with the country in riots, he didn't have much of a choice."

"Valentine gave the throne up, and he and a few of his closest followers went into exile," Jem said, his calm voice permeating through the room. "For a few months, everything was going good, until Valentine killed Raziel. He tried to take back the throne afterward, and it was war. It ended with Valentine being captured and imprisoned. Jocelyn had already left with two children," Jem gestured to Clary and Jonathan before continuing, "She took you out of Alicante because she didn't want you to grow up in Valentine's shadow."

Jem stopped, coughing violently as he doubled over. Will was there immediately, wrapping an arm around him and pulled him over to where Charlotte was standing up. They helped him sit down. Jem waved them both off while he was still coughing.

Once his coughing died down, Jon started talking again. "Jem, are you okay?"

Jem clenched the hand that he coughed into in a fist. "Fine," he said sounding slightly hoarse.

"Mom wasn't going to tell you until a few months from now," Jon sighed. "We weren't ever going to know, but Jace talked to her, insisting that Alicante needed us...well, actually you more than me."

"_Me_?" Clary questioned. "Why me?"

"This is where things might get a bit awkward," Jace sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "Technically, you've got all rights to the throne, Clary."

"Jon's older, he's-"

"A result of an affair between Valentine and some other women," Jon sighed. "Mom raised me as her own, and I love her for that, but I'm not her blood related child."

Clary was weary, Jace said _awkward_, but she had a feeling that it was yet to come.

"Most of us are children of the institute, which is where we are now," Maia said from her seat, clasping her hands together, "are orphaned children of nobles. You see...Jace and Will are special cases, though."

"My father ruled Alicante until I was seven," Jace sighed. "He was assassinated by someone still loyal to Valentine. Hodge Starkweather. After that, Will's father ruled the kingdom, and he was killed by another loyal follower a few months ago. Because Will had just turned eighteen, the job landed on him."

"Our family got a hold of the throne, because of you," Will explained, still standing beside Jem's seat. "You see, when we were all still whiny babies, my uncle, Stephen Herondale, and your dad, Valentine Morgenstern, were both in the circle together, and...well," Will looked at Jace with a raised eyebrow. Jace simply shrugged, as if giving him free reign. "You're engaged."

Clary blinked and then snorted, bursting out in laughter. "This was all just an elaborate prank?" she questioned, looking directly at Jace, trying to get him to break the excellent poker face he had on. "You went through all this trouble to make a joke? I'll give you guys something for dedication."

She looked around the room, realizing that she was the only one laughing. Everyone else was still deathly serious. Clary's heart began sinking and she shook her head. "Me and Jace...engaged? That...that would never happen. Right?"

When no one answered again, and tension began to permeate through the air, she felt her heart start thudding more harshly in her ribcage. They were taking way too long to say "Gotcha!"

"Trust me," Jace said through clenched teeth a moment later, "I'm no happier about it." He shoved himself off the couch and stalked out the room slamming the door shut behind him.

_Oh no,_ Clary thought, _that was probably just a bit rude..._

"Well, little sis," Jon sighed, rubbing his hands over his face, "you most likely could have handled that last piece of news with more grace."

"Shut it, Jon," Clary snapped. "How would you react if someone told _you_ that _you_ were engaged to _Jace Wayland!"_

Jon remained silent, his eyebrow raised slightly, as if asking her to reevaluate her question...she refused to.

"He'd probably go for it," Will said, trying to keep things light. "I mean, Herondales are extraordinarily attractive, if I do say so myself."

"And you do," Tessa said dryly. "Now do try and be serious Will."

Will sent her a withering look and bent down to say something quietly into Jem's ear.

"I'm fine," Jem insisted, going so far as to stand up. He did seem fine. She was curious as to why they were taking something like a bad cough so seriously.

"And I know you know Jace as '_Jace Wayland'_ from...Idris, but here he is '_Jace Herondale'_," Charlotte said.

"Why the change of so many last names," Clary questioned.

"It is a long story that you will have to hear some other time," Charlotte replied, standing up and giving her a small smile. "I would try and explain it now, but I'm afraid I have a meeting with Benedict Lightwood."

Everyone in the room grimaced, even Izzy and Alec, the guy must have been a real jerk. Charlotte said his name the same way she might have said _'spider'_ or _'train wreck'_. That didn't do much to assure Clary of his stunning character traits either.

"I know Jace promised to give you the tour, Clary," Sebastian said. "But since he's a bit preoccupied, I figured that you wouldn't mind if I did."

Clary smiled at Sebastian, and said, "I'd like that."

"I'd tag along, but I probably need to go and talk to Jace," Jon sighed.

"The Herondales have very fragile egos," Will explained a small smile playing on his lips, as if he found the entire ordeal extremely amusing. "Don't worry, though, Clary, he'll be okay."

Clary tried for a smile, but she most likely achieved . "Thanks for the reassurance."

Clary and Sebastian both stood up. She was slightly confused when no one else got up with them. With a slight pang of sadness, she wondered if all of her friends weren't even that.

As if reading her mind, Jordan spoke up. "Sorry we can't join you for the grand tour," he said, sounding and looking genuinely displeased. "All of us have people who need to know we're back before we go any further."

Feeling slightly relieved, Clary smiled at him and then the rest of them, saying, "That's alright, I'll see you guys later, then."

Jon and Sebastian both waited for her at the door. Clary walked over and the three of them walked out into the echoing hallway again.

"Jon," she said, tugging on her brother's shirt.

"Yes, Clary?" Jon questioned, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I-I don't want to be queen," she said quietly, looking at the rug covered stone floor.

"Don't be that way," Jon said, pulling her into a hug. "You don't even need to think about that right now. Just get to know the place and the people," he urged as he released her. "We can talk about all of that when mom's here and everything settles down a bit."

She let go of Jon and smiled. "I've got to go," Jon said. "Have fun touring."

Clary watched Jon walk off and then she turned around to see that Sebastian was leaning against a wall, his arms crossed, and a handsome smile on his face. He had put a bit of distance between himself and her to give her and Jon some privacy. Such a gentleman. She smiled at him and he walked back over to her.

"Come on," he said, placing a large hand on her shoulder. "I think you're going to like it here."

* * *

**Another chapter finished! They may be shorter, but I do update fairly quickly. I hope you all enjoyed, and I may not be able to update for a few days, and if that is the case, I promise the next chapter will be longer. I hope a few of your questions were answered, and stay tuned to find out more! **


	9. Chapter 9

eileenaileen asked for Jace's POV, and here it is!

* * *

He hadn't meant to stalk out of the room like an overgrown child. Watching Clary take everything calmly and silently before Will mentioned their engagement hurt a lot more than it most likely should have. He had flirted lightly with her for years. At times she would flirt back, and there were other times when she would shoot his advances down harshly. That was all different. She laughed at the thought of them being together, and once she realized that no one else was joking, she sounded and looked terrified. It really hadn't done much to massage his ego.

He had been aimlessly walking the hallways for maybe twenty minutes before he made it to the roof. His hands were clutched on to the railing that prevented people from accidentally falling to their deaths. Though, to be honest, if someone really wanted to, jumping it would be only too easy.

He was looking at the rolling green hills of Alicante. It was his home, and he missed it desperately. He had left when Stephen had died, and went to the other dimension. He had been taken in my Michel Wayland, but a little over a year ago, Michel had been called back to Alicante due to an emergency invasion and was killed in the fight. Jace had been devastated.

Even now, thinking about his adoptive father caused the back of his eyes to sting dully. He would never cry; he hadn't cried when his real father died, or when Michel died. He actually rarely let anything bother him, it was easier that way. There was something about Clary, though. It bothered him more than he was willing to admit to even himself. Sometimes he wished he could figure out a way to just cut out all of his emotions, they seemed to get in the way too much. He always ended up getting attached to something, this time it was Clary, and it was always ripped away from him.

It wasn't the same pain as when he lost his father and his father figure. Clary hadn't died. She had willingly tore herself away from him; it had been completely her choice.

He remembered going to Alicante for the funeral. Everyone other than Jon and Clary had went. The story had been that he died in a car wreck, and they were burying him where he was originally from. When he came back, staying at the Lightwood's house, he had found solace on their rooftop as well. He would climb out of his window and sit on the roof that was in front of it, just looking at the sky, silently wondering if Michel and Stephen were proud of him.

Clary had found him out there, she hadn't said a word, she just sat there beside him and wrapped an arm around him. He leaned his head against her shoulder. He was pretty sure that was when he first really started liking her. He had thought that she was cute, but he never even really considered liking her before; he had been so rebellious about it, and after that he was slowly falling for her. So much for strong will.

As the look of horror that had been plastered on her face passed through his mind's eye again, he held on to the iron bar more tightly, willing his anger to go away. It didn't work too well.

"Should have known you be here," Jon said. He walked quietly enough to sneak up on Jace, startling him, but he hadn't showed it.

"Yeah," Jace said, glad that his voice sounded normal. "Just wanted to get some fresh air, and I missed this view."

Jon didn't say anything else while he walked over, seeming content with just standing there, leaning against the railing. Jace barely casted him,a glance as he spoke, "You and your sister have a bad habit of finding me when I wasn't planning on being found."

"You have a bad habit of going to roofs when you're upset," Jon replied. "Not my fault you're predictable."

The small jibe caused him to involuntarily smile.

"Speaking of my sister," Jon said, "I wanted to talk to you about that."

Jace shook his head. "If I upset her, man, I'm sorry. I'll go and-"

"I'm not here to chew you out about it," Jon said, cutting him off. "I'm here because I know how you feel about her."

"If you're asking me to stop feeling that way," Jace said sharply, "I can tell you that I've already tried and nothing I do seems to work."

"I wouldn't ask that," Jon said. "I'm just here to ask you to give her a little time to adjust before you..."

"Before I what, Jon?" he asked, shaking his head, his eyes fixated on a large house in the distance. "Did you think I expect her to return them? It would have been nice...excellent actually, but I'm not going to force her to like me."

"Then what are you going to do?" Jon questioned.

"I don't know," Jace replied. "Be her friend? I mean, clearly she hates the idea of being with me, so hopefully she doesn't actually hate me. I want her to be happy...I just wish she wasn't so damn happy around Verlac."

He saw Jon smiling at him, shaking his head. "You know jealousy doesn't look good on you, Herondale."

Jace snorted, "At least I'll admit that I'm jealous, it looks worse and more obvious on Will. He won't admit to it, though."

"Must be a Herondale thing," Jon mused, a corner of his mouth lifting into a half smile.

"Well, since you were too...set on seeing the roof, Clary got a new tour guide," Jon reported.

Jace closed his eyes, shaking his head. "If you're going to say it's Sebastian, just don't..."

When Jon remained silent, Jace felt a flare of anger course through him, and he swore as he slammed his hand against the railing. He felt blood welling up from where his skin had split around his knuckles.

He felt Jon's large hand latch around his wrist as he examined the injury. "You know," Jon said musingly, "you could have simply walked downstairs and done the same thing, but to Seb's nose."

"Nice way to speak to your friend," Jace said snappishly.

Jon chuckled lightly. "He deserves it, friend or not. He's doing this just to piss you off."

Jace froze. "You mean he's not interested in Clary?' he demanded.

"He has a girlfriend," Jon reminded him patiently. "Now, I'm not telling you that I'm okay with you being with my sister," Jon said, a small smirk coming to his face, "I'm just saying that I would rather you than just about anyone else."

"Just about?" Jace asked humorously. "Who else is this perfect?"

Jon clapped Jace on the shoulder, "If we hurry up, and you're finished skulking, we might be able to get to Clary before he is finished with half of the rooms on the first floor."

Jace just shook his head. "You go and chaperone them, I really screwed up, and I need to get my emotions firmly under control before I go near Clary again."

"I was serious about punching Sebastian," Jon reminded him.

"Don't make it sound so tempting," Jace laughed. "I'll catch up with you later, I should probably go and talk to Will anyway. It's been a while since I was able to."

Jon nodded and pushed himself away from the railing. Jace turned so that his back was leaning against it, and he was watching his friend. Jon backed away a few steps before giving him one last smirk and turning. He walked through the doorway that lead to a good sized flight of stairs that would take him to the doors that would lead into the library.

Everyone seemed to be okay with him being with Clary but Clary. He shook his head. She would hopefully come around.

* * *

It was dinner time before Jace came off the roof. He knew that he was supposed to have went and talked to Will, but the solitude was just too precious to give up, even for exceedingly arrogant cousins.

He found himself walking into the dining room and sitting next to Tessa with Alec on his other side. The table was long and wooden, probably able to seat well over fifty guests with ease. A large chandelier was above their heads, runes inscribed into the glass. It glowed, filling the room with light.

Clary had sat in between Simon and Isabelle, asking questions at random, and listening with wide green eyes as one of the various people from the table explained. The only three people who seemed to be remaining silent were him, Henry, and Jessamine.

Henry was Charlotte's husband, and head of the institute's servants alongside Charlotte. He oversaw the males and Charlotte oversaw the females. He was a read headed man with distant green eyes that always seemed to be thinking of something other than what was going on in the room around him.

Jessamine was...well, she was Jessamine. She had curly blond hair, cold blue eyes, and a frown that twisted her normally pretty face. She hated it at the institute, and no one really liked her being there anyway. She was always rude to the servants, even Charlotte and Henry who were in charge of the orphans along with giving servants their tasks. She wanted to go into the other dimension, and live with what everyone in Alicante called mundanes.

If it had been up to anyone but Charlotte and Henry, she would have been gone already. Heck, Jace was pretty sure that Will had even offered to sneak her out once or twice only to have the plan foiled.

He heard Clary's next question, "I heard someone mention that Magnus was a warlock. I understand that you're glittery and all, Magnus, but I didn't think that there was anything magical about it."

"I assure you that my glitter is very magical," Magnus said, a laugh in his voice as he spoke. "But, to answer your question, yes I am a warlock. So is dear Tessa."

Jace saw Clary's eyes slide quickly over him to look at Tessa, who smiled warmly in return. "Yes, I don't...flaunt my magic like Magnus, but I am a warlock."

"I am offended by that insinuation," Magnus declared good-naturedly from his spot beside Alec.

Tessa laughed, and as they began arguing playfully, Jace saw Clary turn and look at him. He stared back unabashedly, meeting her gaze and holding it...she flushed slightly, but didn't look away. Jace didn't know if he would even be able to break it, her green eyes were so hypnotic.

"Ugh!" Will said from across the table, causing Jace to snap his attention toward his cousin. "I swear I ever see that look on your face again, I might just puke!"

"Will!" Charlotte scolded.

Will ignored it and said, "For the love of Raziel! You looked like you were trying to mentally undress the poor girl!"

Jace raised an eyebrow at Will, waiting for the feeling of embarrassment that never came. He also waited for Clary to deny it or snap at Will to shut up, but that never came either. So he said, "You just wish Tessa would look at you like that."

There was a moment if tense silence. This was how Jace and Will worked. They either got along for the visit, or they tried to kill each other. Everyone was holding their breath for Will's reaction.

Will finally smirked, and winked at Tessa. "All girls do that to me, Jace."

The entire room erupted in laughter, tension had left the air, everyone seemed to be pleased. Jace was too, apparently this visit until Valentine was caught would be a pleasant one.

* * *

**I hope you liked it. Sorry about any grammar problems. It's the only time I can update until Sunday.**


	10. Chapter 10

Dinner had been an embarrassing affair. Will made it that way almost effortlessly with his never ending stream of crude comments and interesting innuendos. Clary remained quiet after Will described the way Jace was staring at her. She was embarrassed, and felt something flutter in her stomach that she hadn't felt before.

She just listened to Jace and Will bantering back and forth, Jem, and Jon would occasionally joke around with them, squashing their egos and generally seeming to have a pretty good time. Izzy and Simon were explaining different terms that Will and Jace were throwing out into the open, such as who Woosley Scott, who had kept Jordan and Maia out longer than the rest, was, and who Raphael was. It turned out that she was in a realm full of monsters.

While Isabelle assured Clary that she was one hundred percent human, and that there were only two at the table who weren't, she was still uneasy. There was only so much a person could process at one time, and Clary had managed to over step that limit by a mile.

I've went through some kind of Narnian door and into a strange place full of werewolves, vampires, and warlocks. Said strange place, Alicante, might possibly end up being driven to a civil war because of one man. My father, who, before he was captured, arranged for me to be married to my childhood tormentor, turned possible friend, Jace Wayland! No she corrected her self wryly, Herondale

The only thing she wanted to know was if anyone else from the 'mundane' realm that was presented with the information, which could be proven true, would have lost their mind. Then again, another, probably better question, was when did she lose hers.

Her eyes flickered over to Jace, who was laughing at something Will said, and she silently decided that she lost her mind the day that he walked into her life. He'd most likely stolen it from her, and she was oddly okay with it.

His eyes strayed toward her, and he held her gaze for just a moment. His smiled died slightly, and Clary felt guilt beginning to claw at her insides yet again. She was a terrible person.

She sighed quietly as she, Isabelle, and Tessa walked down the hallway together toward the bedroom wing of the institute. The guys had stuck around in the dining room to compare testosterone levels and whatnot.

Tessa was talking about different shops that were located near the institute. They had plenty of clothing stores, and, according to Tessa, despite being in a different dimension, the fashion choices were fairly similar. Clary was relieved, she didn't know if she could handle strange robes or dresses that she always associated with the idea of different realms. Watching Thor, Narina and several nerdy SciFi movies had done that to her.

The group of girls came up to a two way turn on the hallway. Tessa turned left, and said, "The pool's on the right, by the way."

Clary raised an eyebrow, but remained silent otherwise.

The hallway was a long and had to have had twenty rooms on either side. "You guys can pick from just about any room," she said. "Will's got the one on the end, and mine and Jem's are on either side of his. Jessamine's is the first one on the hall, since she loathes most of us."

"She likes to shop," Isabelle said, as if that made up for it.

"Shopping isn't everything," Clary reminded her patiently.

"I know," Isabelle agreed. "It's just nice to know someone else who enjoys it too."

Clary rolled her eyes and asked the question that had been on her mind since dinner. "Is Jace still mad at me?"

Both girls shared a look as if agreeing on information that Clary was not in on.

"I don't really think that he was mad," Izzy said after a moment. "I think he was more hurt than anything."

"He doesn't even like me," Clary said. "I imagine he's just as upset by it."

"Are you upset by the fact that you were supposed to marry Jace, or are you upset by the fact that you were being forced to marry?" Tessa questioned.

"What do you mean 'were'?" Clary questioned. "Is the wedding still not-"

"It's your choice completely," Izzy assured her. "You,don't ever have to get married."

"Then why was it even mentioned?" Clary questioned. "Why is it such a big deal?"

Both girls looked at each other once again, this time it was an uneasy look that was mirrored on both their faces, as they were arguing over which one was supposed to answer.

Tessa seemed to lose the silent argument as they got toward the end of the hall. She leaned against the last door on he right, and sighed. "If you don't marry Jace," she replied slowly, as if trying to figure out the proper way to word the answer, "There will be...indecision about who will take the throne."

"What do you mean?" Clary questioned.

"The Morgensterns, other than Valentine, are an old and well respected family, and the Herondales are too," she explained. "The country doesn't really trust any child of Valentine, but since two Herondales have been murdered on the throne, thanks to Valentine, they want a union of the two as a way to prevent further bloodshed."

"And if there isn't?" Clary questioned, her arms crossed.

"Then it is unlikely that either family will take the throne, which may not seem like a big deal to you," Tessa answered, "but it means that a new family must come into power. This will likely result in a civil war for the title."

Clary groaned, "That isn't a choice. It's either I marry Jace, or people lose their lives."

"You never really answered the question," Izzy prompted, "are you upset by the fact that it's Jace, or because you don't want to be forced to marry anyone."

"I'm sixteen!" Clary said. "I'm too young to get married. I've never even dated anyone, my first kiss was this morning, and now, all of a sudden, I'm being informed that I'm engaged!"

Both girls regarded her for a second before they began smiling. "So it isn't the fact that it's Jace," Tessa said slowly, almost sounding relieved. "We can deal with that!"

"What-"

"You don't have to get married until you're eighteen," Tessa said. "That's when you'll inherit the throne. Will is...not quite king, but he's controlling everything until you both turn eighteen."

"Did these people know where I was?" Clary questioned. "Is that why no rioting has happened?"

"They knew that you were in hiding from Valentine," Izzy answered. "Not where. Jace too."

Clary sighed, feeling incredibly exhausted. "I-I need to sleep on this."

Both girls nodded in understanding as she walked to the door that was beside Tessa's room. "Good night, Clary," they said.

She was awakened by Sophie the next morning. The servant girl had a duffle bag filled with, what Clary imagined, her clothes. "Your mother got here last night, Ms. Fairchild."

Clary blinked, "What?"

"Jocelyn Fairchild is your mother, right?" Sophie questioned.

"Jocelyn Fray is," she replied.

"That was the name she used in the mundane world," Sophie explained helpfully. "Is that what you would prefer to be called?"

"Just call me Clary," she replied.

Sophie looked at her for a moment, and Clary realized that she was most likely going to have the time of her life trying to convince the servants to be on a first name basis with her.

Sophie walked out of the room, favoring Clary with a small smile before she went.

Clary hurriedly unzipped the black duffle bag and grabbed the first pair of jean and suitable top she could get her hands on. Her mother had quite a few questions to answer.

* * *

**No waiting for Sunday, lolita is fandom crazy! :)**

** : I'm glad everything's going good, and I'm happy that you're back! :)**

**And to JaceHerondale17, all Herondales are too sexy to not have tension! Lol.**

**I hope you enjoyed and leave a review on the way out, because you're ALL so awesome!**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Clary:**_

Thankfully Sophie was waiting for her outside of her room. Clary was pretty sure she would have been completely lost any other way. As awesome as Sebastian was at showing her around, the guilt that she felt clawing at her insides about Jace had really been distracting her...actually everything Jace-related was distracting her.

The fluttering feeling in her stomach that she got while Jace was around did not mean anything, just like the way Jace didn't really mean anything when he was flirting with her. God, that fluttering feeling was the most distracting! Then there was the way he would look at her from time to time...like he was starving and she was his favorite meal. It was scary and alluring at the same time.

It was a good thing that Sophie was silent for the walk; Clary wouldn't have been much for conversation. She was way too caught up in her issues got for any amount of talking.

Her anger was beyond description at her mother. There really was only so much anger that could be put into words. Forgetting to mention that she was heir to a throne was pretty terrible, and saying that Clary was upset, angry, livid, or furious wasn't really cutting it.

Then, there was that tiny thing with marriage. She wasn't ready to marry anyone, let alone someone as immature as Jace. No matter how hot he was. She told Izzy and Tessa the night before that she was going to sleep on it...hopefully they wouldn't ask her for her answer that morning. She didn't have one. God, she was going to have to talk to Jace about this! That sounded like torture.

She didn't know whether to thank Sophie for leading her to the same room that they had been in the night before, or to get on her knees and beg her to take her away. Before she could do either, however, she heard the sound of feet padding against the floor.

Turning away from the door, thankful for a distraction, no matter how short, she saw Jem walking toward them. His silvery hair was slightly rumpled, as if he had not slept well the night before, but he was still smiling that sweet and calming smile that she had already started to associate with him.

"Good morning, Clary. Sophie," he said cheerfully as he approached them.

"Good morning, master Jem," Sophie said, a small smile coming to her face. Clary hadn't seen Sophie smile before, and was shocked to see it then. Jem could probably make just about anyone smile.

Jem smiled at Clary, offering her his arm. "Would you like me to escort you inside?"

Clary looped her arm through his, smiling in return, "I would love that."

Sophie, with a ghost of that smile still on her face, nodded her head toward them slightly before walking away silently. Jem pushed the door open, and they walked in, arm-in-arm.

"I'm trying to make Will look bad," he whispered in her ear humorously as they did, causing Clary to give a short laugh.

Everyone paused their conversation as the two of them walked inside. She saw that more seats had been brought in the room, and almost all of them were filled. Charlotte was, once again, sitting in the plush armchair at the head of the coffee table. Isabelle and Simon had claimed the loveseat that Jordan and Maia had been in the day before; Jon, Jace, Alec, and Magnus were on the couch. Sebastian was sitting on a wooden chair, and Will and Tessa were seated on the other loveseat.

Clary's eyes landed on her mother last, and the small amount of humor that she had felt at Jem's words evaporated as if they had been water heated over a hot fire. The anger that she had felt was starting to surface. Her mom was seated on another plush chair as she turned and looked at her.

Clary's jaw clenched at the sight of her. Everything about her was pretty, from her red hair, to her long and thin frame. Clary normally felt slightly jealous of her mother's looks, not that day. The only thing she felt for her mother was stinging betrayal.

Sure, mentioning that she was heir to a throne in another realm wasn't exactly something that she could have brought up over family dinner time, but Clary imagined that over the past sixteen years of her life, Jocelyn Fray could have found time to mention it just once...maybe in passing.

_Okay_, she thought to herself annoyedly, _no more sarcastic observations. _

Everything had been silent for the mother-daughter stare down for a good two minutes. Clary was pretty sure if Jem wouldn't have had a good grip on her arm, she would have bolted. She had been looking forward to her mother's arrival all the way until it actually happened.

"Why?" she asked, her voice quiet. "I want to know why you didn't tell me about all of this."

Her mother looked at her sadly. "It was to protect you," Jocelyn explained. "I didn't want you to have to go through this."

"Well I am anyway," she snapped. "I have people expecting me to get married and rule a place that I didn't even know existed before yesterday afternoon!"

"You don't have to-"

"I've already been informed of my choices," Clary said coldly. "There isn't a choice."

Jocelyn looked as though she wanted to say something, but didn't know how to word it. Clary didn't want to hear any excuses, she didn't want to see any varying shades of grey in the very black and white picture that she was looking at.

"Knowing that my father is a loon would have been nice too!" she exclaimed. "Jon knew last year! How come I was still kept in the dark? I am so sick of being left out of pieces of information! I had a right to know about this place! It still feels like a bad dream that I just can't wake up from. But, please, mother, while I'm here, tell me, is there any other pieces of information that you've decided to leave out of my life?"

Jocelyn remained silent, so she glared at her friends as well. "What about the rest of you? Anything?"

She was halfway expecting Will to make some sarcastic comment, but when she was only met with silence, she sighed, pulling her arm from Jem's grip. "Figures. You wouldn't tell me even if there was."

She turned around and walked to the door. "Have the meeting without me, you always did anyway."

* * *

She was still fuming as she found herself outside of the castle. She was in a courtyard filled with statues of different people. She figured they were past monarchs. Fountains were scattered all around, and the normally soothing sound of pouring water could be heard no matter where she walked. She halfway figured that they were all up there going through wedding arrangements, and maybe even as far as what she was going to name her first child.

She figured that she should have probably been in there, fighting tooth and nail against everything that was threatening her freedom, but she was still sixteen. She had a right to skulk around like a child, and, in the unfairness of it all, skulking was exactly what she planned on doing.

"I'm not used to seeing you this down, Clary," a calm voice said from behind her.

Spinning around, she saw a familiar sparkly guy. "Yeah, well I'm not used to the fact that my entire life was a lie." When most teenagers said that, it was an exaggeration...why could this not be the case?

"I understand that you're angry-"

"Do you?" Clary questioned, narrowing her eyes. "You were in on it too, were you not?"

"I was," Magnus replied guiltily. "That doesn't mean that I don't care about you, you're mother's the same way. She cares very deeply for you."

"If you're here to talk me out of being angry with her, it's not going to work. If she wants to do that, she can come down here herself," Clary said coldly.

"That isn't why I'm here," Magnus replied. "You know me well enough to know that I am not a messenger. I'm here because I want to be. I figured that you might want someone to confide in, and since Izzy is still trying to marry you off to Jace, and Simon is about as tactful as Jordan, I figured I'd be the best for the job."

"Jon didn't insist on coming out?" Clary asked, partially shocked.

"Apart from the fact that Jon's tactfulness is worse than Simon's," Magnus began, a small smile on his lips, "he's inside pretty well chewing your mother out on your behalf."

"How sweet," Clary said dryly.

"That's the only secret we've ever kept from you," Magnus said abruptly. "Please understand that."

"The only secret?" Clary demanded. "Magnus, this isn't some little secret like you guys tried to hide the fact that you broke my favorite paintbrush!"

"You found out about that, did you?" Magnus said guiltily.

"You guys broke my paintbrush?!" Clary demanded. She shook her head, trying to clear it. She could be mad about art utensils later.

"Never mind," she sighed. "This is a whole new ballgame of secret keeping. You hid who I am, and where I'm from!"

"You _are_ Clary Fray," Magnus said. "An artist, loyal friend, enemy/friend of Jace, and normal, vertically challenged, teenage girl. That hasn't changed."

"Oh, yes it has!" Clary snapped.

"No," Magnus said calmly, closing their distance and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. He pushed her forward so that they were walking forward. "You're still the girl I know. The only thing that has changed is circumstances."

"How do I know that you're not lying?" Clary asked miserably. "How do I even know that you guys are my friends?"

"I don't pay attention to people that I don't care about," Magnus replied. "I pay enough attention to you to see that you're nervous about everything that is going on, but you're more worried about Jace. You look at him like you don't know what to think, and you're afraid of feeling a certain way about him because you can't get a good read on how he feels."

Clary wanted to deny it, but Magnus, as usual, was so spot on with his predictions that it was creepy.

"How-" she demanded wearily, only to be cut off.

"I pay attention to you," Magnus shrugged. "Just like I pay attention to the way Simon and Isabelle make those disgusting in love faces at each other."

Clary grimaced. They were disgusting...

"If you weren't going to let me rant and rave on about how you all don't care about me, then why are you out here?" she asked, a small smile on her face.

"To tell you that we all do," he replied smartly. "That meeting is going to be dreadfully boring, I think you'd like the view of the ground of the institute from the library balcony. I've heard that artists find it very fun to draw."

With that, he lead her out of the courtyard and into another wooden door.

* * *

_**Jace:**_

Jace always knew that Clary had fire in her...the red hair was sign enough, but he never really saw it. That was until her pretty green eyes landed on her mother. The anger behind them was so fierce that his heart started thudding painfully in his chest, and he wasn't entirely sure why.

"Never seen someone so turned on by anger," Will observed as they all walked out of the tense atmosphere of the meeting room.

It had been a long and tortuous meeting, filled with arguments, disagreements, and a near fistfight between Jordan and Jon over Clary.

"Shut up, Will," Jace sighed tiredly, hating how his voice lacked any venom.

Will looked at Jace momentarily with a raised eyebrow. "You okay, man? I mean, I seriously doubt that Jem has his eyes on Clary, if you were upset over that-"

"No," Jace cut him off abruptly. "I may be the jealous type, but I'm not that jealous...besides, Clary really isn't mine to be jealous over."

Will looked at him as if he begged to differ, but remained thankfully silent otherwise.

The cousins went their separate ways after they made it to the bedroom wing. Jace had to go by his room to get the book that he had borrowed from Charlotte the last time he was here so he could give it back to the library. Will was in search of Tessa, who had left with Izzy, claiming that they both wanted to see if Maia had gotten back from her meeting with the head of the wolf pack in Alicante.

He had taken the room next to Jem's and across from Clary without even meaning to. He made into his room, grabbed the suitcase that he had went back into the other home for, along with Clary's, and grabbed the book out of it.

* * *

_**Clary:**_

Magnus was so right about the view! It was gorgeous. Clary had been sitting at a table outside of the balcony, drawing the scenery.

"Clary?" Magnus' voice echoed from inside. He had been sitting and talking to her before he decided to go inside in search for a good book.

Her pencil paused on the sketch pad, that Magnus had conjured out of thin air, and she looked into the open doorway. "Yeah?"

"Come here for a minuet, please. I want to show you something."

Clary set the pencil and pad on the glass table and slid the chair back. She leaned her neck to the side to crack it, wincing at the loud sound. She sighed quietly to herself before walking inside, "Where are you, Mag?"

She looked down the staircase that lead to the ground floor of the library. Magnus was standing, halfway hidden by a large bookshelf, his black hair filled with glitter, and seemed to be talking to someone else. She silently walked downstairs and slowly over to her friend.

She got halfway before pausing. He was talking to Jace. The blond looked past Magnus and over at her with a strange glint in his golden eyes.

"I've got to go," Magnus said quickly.

Before Clary could even change her expression to glare at him, he was already darting out of the library, disappearing through the large doors, pausing long enough to smirk and waggle his fingers deviously at her.

She whirled around and saw Jace still unabashedly staring at her. She knew she had to talk to him, but her heart was starting to thud harshly, and how angry he looked the day before was still in the back of her head.

"I should probably go too," she said, hating how meek her voice sounded.

"Clary," Jace sighed. "You know we have to talk sometime. Even if you're going to tell me that you hate me and there's no way in-"

"Shut up, Wayland," she snapped.

"It's Heron-"

"Shut up, Jace!" she amended. "I don't hate you, surprisingly, and please don't say that I do like it's common knowledge!"

Jace blinked, obviously not expecting her to say what just flew out of her mouth. She really hadn't either...

"It's not common knowledge?" Jace questioned, scratching the back of his head, causing his blond curls to move around distractingly.

"Do you really think I hate you?" Clary asked incredulously.

"Well," he replied, his tone bitter, "the way you acted yesterday didn't really give me a positive vibe..."

"Has any girl ever actually hated you?" Clary asked dryly.

A corner of Jace's mouth rose up in a crooked smile and he looked down at her, shaking his head. "You're trying to massage my ego?"

A small laugh escaped Clary's mouth. "Maybe."

Jace's cheerful expression was traded for a serious one quickly. "I don't want you thinking that we have to get married. I understand that our friendship is rocky at best, and I annoy you and-"

Clary couldn't stand the agitation that was distorting his features. Walking over she wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her head against his chest. She felt him flinch slightly, as if he had expected her to strike him, before he slumped against her slightly and returned the hug firmly.

"Let's not think about marriage right now," she said into his chest. "I just want to figure everything else out first."

She actually felt him relax slightly more. "Alright," he said as he pulled away from her enough so that they were looking each other in the eyes. "What do you want to figure out first? Anything you want."

"I need to..." Clary sighed, immediately wanting to sink back in to the surprising comfort of Jace's embrace, but she restrained herself. "I need to talk to my mother."

"You kind of already tried that," Jace chuckled.

"I know," Clary sighed. "But I still have to try again."

"We can go somewhere and cool you off first. There's a workout studio with a punching bag, and you could take your anger out there," he explained.

Clary just shook her head. "I should be fine," she replied. "I think all the drawing I've been doing for the past hour or so should have done the trick."

Jace reached his hand out, and she felt him tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. She never realized just his much he liked her hair. She felt herself blushing slightly, but immediately banished the thought and the feeling. _Nothing complex with Jace. Fix your other problems first!_

"Would you like to come with me?" Clary questioned.

"I wouldn't want to intrude," Jace said quickly, adverting his eyes as he backed away from her.

"If I get angry," Clary said, a small smile on her face, "I can use you for a punching bag."

"When you put it like that," Jace replied, smiling back, "I guess it would be okay. She and Charlotte were talking when I left. They might still be there."

He grabbed her hand a lead her out the room. Clary felt her heart skip a beat, and didn't snatch her hand away.

Both of them were both too caught up in their conversation to realize that there wefewa few people behind the bookshelf that they had been standing by.

* * *

**Who would have been in the library? This was supposed to be two separate chapters! Everyone wanted the Jace and Clary talk, so I combined them. I hope you enjoyed!**


	12. Chapter 12

Clary was lost for words as she and Jace made it back into the meeting room. Charlotte and her mother were sitting together on one of the couches, talking quietly. Charlotte looked at them as they walked inside, and immediately stood up. "I'll talk to you later, Jocelyn."

Clary's mother nodded her head, and looked at the coffee table as Charlotte left the room. Clary's eyes flicked to Jace for a second before returning to her mother just as the door closed. Her mom looked up at Clary and their eyes met.

"Look, Clary," Jace said almost inaudibly, "this seems like a family matter-"

"Please," she pleaded, not wanting to be alone with her mother. At least if Jace was around, there was a better chance that she wouldn't be lied to. "Stay."

Jace nodded, and she grabbed his hand, leading him over to the loveseat, which was directly across from the couch that her mother was sitting on. Blushing slightly, as she felt him squeeze her hand, she looked at her mother.

"Do you even have an explanation for the last sixteen years?" Clary asked coldly.

"Are you going to listen or yell?" she asked. She didn't sound mad, just exasperated. "There's no point in me saying anything if you're not prepared to hear me out."

"I'm here to listen," Clary said. "I've had some time to think, and, despite the fact that I don't see how this can't be partially your fault, I realize that I haven't heard the entire story yet."

"One of the more responsible things you've said," Jocelyn commented, a red eyebrow raised. "I'm proud."

Clary ignored her mother's sarcasm, and released Jace's hand to clasp hers together. "I'm ready to listen to anything you have to say."

"My marriage to Valentine, like yours to Jace, was arranged," Jocelyn sighed, rubbing her tired face in her hands before looking at Clary with sad eyes, "I never wanted to marry him; I never loved him. He was a cruel man with a cold heart. My mother told me to stick it out for a few years; she said that I would eventually grow to love him."

"Did you?" Clary asked, feeling genuinely curious.

"I grew to care about him," Jocelyn admitted. "He grew less cold hearted and I started feeling more sympathy toward him because of all of his responsibilities. That was until he was dethroned."

Clary saw the pain flash in Jocelyn's eyes, and she realized that it was probably harder for her mother to speak about than it was for Clary to hear.

"He...he was still leading his loyal followers in exile. We were located in a wasteland called Edom," she shook her head, "he was his followers' savior, but he was different when he was at home. He was a monster. He started growing distant, ordering me around, and the only time we would really talk was when we were arguing-"

The door flew open, and Luke, much to Clary's surprise, rushed inside. "Sorry, dear, I just got here!"

"_Luke_?" Clary demanded incredulously. She didn't know why Luke, of all people, surprised her. She hadn't expected him to be a part of all of this. He was just so _normal_. He owned a bookstore, and seemed so grounded with his brown hair, glasses, and admittedly built frame.

"Hello, Clary; hello, Jace" Luke said in his normal kind tone. He looked back at Clary's mother. "I imagine you're telling her about Valentine."

"About everything actually," Jocelyn said as Luke came over and sat beside her. He grabbed her hand as a very sweet form of comfort, and Clary remembered the reassuring squeeze that Jace had given her hand. She mentally slapped the thought. It wasn't the time to be pondering over Jace.

"Sorry for interrupting," Luke said, sounding genuine. He tensed as if he was about to get up, "If you want, I can-"

"No, Luke," Clary said quickly. "Please stay." He was her father figure, after all. Not to mention that the way Luke said her father's name was with an air of familiarity. She was curious as to why.

Luke nodded slowly and relaxed again, looking at her mother, as if telling her to continue her tale.

Jocelyn took a deep breath, "Like I was saying...Valentine and I would only speak when we were arguing, screaming and yelling at each other. He thought that if I would have been more supportive, he might not have been kicked off the throne."

"Is that true?" Clary questioned.

"You have to understand," Luke said, immediately sticking up for her mother. "Valentine was an _awful_ ruler, a bitter person, and was truly poison for the people that he was around, twisting and warping situations and into something that he could take advantage of. He was an oppressive ruler, and people were starving. There was nothing for her to support."

"Where were you when all of this happened?" Clary asked.

"I..." Luke looked down, clearly ashamed, "I was your father's best friend, and his right hand man."

"_How_?" Clary whispered, numb with disbelief. "If he was so bad, why were you even around him? _Mom_ didn't have a choice, but _you_...you helped him?"

Jace immediately grabbed her hand, and Clary felt slightly better. He leaned forward, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him in a one armed hug. She was in too much shock to even register how awkward she was supposed feel. "Calm down, Clary," he whispered. "Luke's a good man, he has reasons for everything he did."

Clary looked at Luke expectantly.

"You have to understand that the ruling here isn't an absolute monarchy. The king and queen do have the most power, but there is a small government under them, called the Clave. It's powerful, and can undermine the king's authority if there is a situation that the members all feel strongly enough about. Valentine thought that they were corrupt." Luke looked so ashamed and sad that Clary's heart gave an involuntary pang. "He truly believed it, and you don't know how convincing your father is...Jonathan got that from him. He made me believe him; he made me believe that what was wrong with the country could be fixed if we just got rid of the current Clave and fixed it."

"What do you mean _get rid of?"_ Clary asked, her head against Jace's chest, his arm still around her. She glanced up at him, and saw that he knew exactly what they meant, and the look on his face said that she wasn't going to like the answer.

"A massive purge," Luke explained. "Done in secret, of course, and we would do it over time, slowly replacing them with loyal subjects, until the entire Clave had been reformed. These people wouldn't be bothered by the downworlders, which are the fair folk and the werewolves...and others..." Luke trailed off, the way he said _werewolves_ was sad, as if the subject was sensitive to him for some reason. "I followed him blindly, believing him when he said that if the downworlders and the Clave were eradicated, the country would prosper."

"What changed your mind?" Clary questioned.

"Before the purge could really began," Luke said. "We were going to take out a large werewolf hole in one of the abandoned buildings on the outskirts of Alicante. I was bitten, and was turned into a werewolf. Valentine, despite the fact that he knew I was utterly loyal to him, handed me a dagger and told me to kill myself."

Clary gasped, sitting straight up. She fought the sudden urge to go and wrap Luke up in a hug. "W-what happened after that?" she asked, wrapping an arm around her chest, and covering her mouth with the hand of her other.

"Woolsey Scott took me in, realizing that he had turned me himself," Luke looked pained. "He didn't have to do anything but break my neck, but...he forgave me easily, and told me that he knew that I had been betrayed, and that he knew that I could be a valuable part of the wolf pack. I stayed away from Valentine for maybe a year." He looked Clary in the eyes, "I couldn't any longer, I knew what he was like and I knew that Jocelyn was still there. I've always loved your mother, and I couldn't just let her stay there."

"I'd just had you maybe a week before," her mom said, "and Jon was barely a year old when Luke came back. He told me that we couldn't stay, and when he found out about everything that had happened to me, he was even more sure. Valentine was dethroned a month or so after Luke had been turned, so I was stuck in Edom with him for about eleven months. After he found me, we realized that you wouldn't be safe here with Valentine, so we went to the mundane realm."

"He wasn't your son," Clary said, "so why take Jon?"

"Valentine came home with him one day and put him in my arms, he told me that he was so I could learn how to raise a child before I had the future ruler," her mother said. "I raised him as my own, I love him like my own. I wasn't about to leave him there with that monster."

"I'm glad you didn't," Clary said after a moment. "I understand why you took me out of here, but I still think you could have told me about this place."

Her mom nodded, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I didn't know if you would have wanted to come here if you knew about this. You've always been curious."

Clary was silent for a moment, she didn't know if she could handle anymore information. She had a feeling that they knew she couldn't, because they both remained silent, expressions of sorrow on both their faces.

* * *

_**Will:**_

He had found Isabelle, Jem, Tessa, and Simon in the library, and all of them hid as they heard the privet conversation between Jace and Clary. His cousin _never_ spoke to anyone in the tone that he used with the redhead. He never spoke with any true emotion, but different feelings seemed to color his tongue when he was taking with her.

"You're certain they're not together?" Will questioned, looking first at Isabelle then at Simon.

They both nodded silently as the sound of large doors closing echoed through the large room. "They've never really talked to each other like that before."

"I don't know Clary all that well," Will sighed, "but I can tell that Jace has it bad."

"She's liked him for a while," Izzy said, shaking her head as if it should have been obvious.

"What?" Simon demanded, clearly confused. "Since when?"

"Since we started highschool," Izzy replied impatiently with a wave of her hand, as if saying, '_keep up'_.

"It's really in the kingdom's best interest if they start at least trying to date," Jem said quietly. "I hate to sound so selfish, but-"

"It's not selfish," Tessa said, patting his hand comfortingly. "It's the truth. No one wants a civil war."

"Everyone here swore that we wouldn't force them," Will said, "no one at the institute would force them into anything that Valentine, of all people, wanted."

"That doesn't mean that we can't just _nudge_ them in the right direction," Izzy insisted, a small smile on her face. "Admit it, even if there wasn't an impending civil war, you'd still want them together, they're just _adorable_!"

Will blinked as he raised an eyebrow. "I'm a guy, I don't call _anything_, much less something involving another guy, _adorable_."

"Agreed," Simon said, crossing his arms and nodding his head.

Jem simply rolled his eyes, and Will wasn't sure if it was at Simon and him or at Izzy.

"Insecure idiots," Tessa grumbled, before smiling at Izzy. "They're completely adorable together."

"This shouldn't be too hard," Will said, rubbing his hands together, "I happen to be an expert at making those of the opposite gender swoon."

"You are so much like Jace that it's creepy," Simon observed, his voice was calm, but it actually held a note of amazement.

"I'm older, four eyes," Will said good naturedly, "that means that _he's_ like _me_."

"We don't need a huge shove," Izzy said, rolling her eyes. "Just a gentle nudge. Just ask yourself: what do they both respond best to?"

They all looked at each other for a moment, thinking, then a smirk started growing on his face, mirrored on each on of their own. Even Jem had a slightly devious glint to his smile. This really was going to be too easy.

* * *

**Just for my sake and sanity lol, because I really do love both ships and boys equally, which paring would you guys prefer: Jem/Tessa or Will/Tessa?**

**I hope you liked the explanation, until next time, leave me with your thoughts :).**


	13. Chapter 13

_**Jace:**_

By the time that he and Clary got out of that conference room and away from Luke and Jocelyn, it had to have been six o'clock or so in the afternoon. Isabelle and Tessa were both walking down the hallway towards them, both sported nearly identical expressions of worry.

"Thank Raziel!" Izzy exclaimed, as both girls raced toward them. "We've been looking everywhere for you!"

"What is it?" Jace asked, raising an eyebrow. Izzy was rarely openly distraught.

"Jordan and Maia," Tessa explained, worry caused a crease to form between her eyebrows. "We haven't heard from them since they got here yesterday."

"I'm sure everything's fine," Jace insisted. "Everyone knows how Woolsey is."

"Exactly," Izzy said, "what's the first thing Woolsey would want to do? Meet Clary! He's extremely gregarious, and she's the future ruler of Alicante!"

"It could be anything," Jace informed them, but he was feeling worried himself. He sighed, "I'll grab Alec, Jon, Simon, Will, and Jem, we can-"

"If this is an all boys clan, why not invite Seb?" Izzy asked dryly. "I didn't tell you that so you could dictate, I told you to invite you to come with us," she gestured between her and Tessa.

"I'm not staying here," Clary said, crossing her arms.

"You're not-" Jace began, only to be cut off by Izzy.

"Just because she didn't know about this world, didn't mean that she didn't train with us," she reminded him sharply. "She took lessons with Luke and even attended the same karate classes we all did."

Jace was glaring at Izzy furiously but he gave a stiff nod as he realized that he had no argument. He swore everyone was against him when all he wanted to do was keep the stubborn redhead safe!

"Get the others," he barked at Izzy and Tessa.

Jace grabbed Clary's hand and didn't speak as he dragged her toward the weapon's room. She stumbled slightly as she tried to keep up with his quick pace. He turned down the hallway that the dining room was on, and followed it until they got to the second door to the end, the end doors being the ones that lead the way into the dining room, and pushed it open. Once they were safely inside, and he flicked the lights on, he turned around and leveled Clary with his glare.

Of course, she had a mean one of her own prepared especially for him. He was used to it from the many years of school that they attended together, but it was still a pretty fiery one.

"Is there a reason that you're so hellbent on me not going?" she demanded, her hands on her hips. "You heard Izzy, I'm just as trained as you are!"

"You don't know the first thing about this place!" Jace snapped, turning around and letting his eyes take in the familiar sight of bows, arrows, axes, swords of all sizes, knives, bludgeons, and various new weapons that he hadn't even had the opportunity to familiarize himself with.

"Now's a good time as any to start," Clary snapped. "Jordan and Maia could be in trouble, so stop skulking and let's go!"

"Here," Jace growled, handing her a six inch dagger. Clary took it from him along with the sheath and weapons belt and wrapped it around her waist. "I know Luke at least taught you how to fight with this."

"I have a question," Clary said as she finished getting herself ready.

"What?" Jace asked, his voice still sharp.

"Why haven't we told any of the adults?" she asked.

"They would have to alert the clave before they could do anything," he replied. "Despite the truce that they have with the downworlders, the members don't exactly have a brotherly relationship with them. They probably won't allow for any type of action, not even someone to go and check on them."

"That's awful," Clary said. Jace turned and saw that her eyes were widened with genuine surprise.

"Yeah," Jace replied, grabbing his favorite sword, which was hanging off the wall, already in its sheath. He slung it over his shoulder, "well that's Alicante for you."

Before Clary could reply, though he had a feeling that it wouldn't have been a nice one, the doors bursted open, and the others piled inside.

* * *

Once everyone had their weapons on, Magnus looked at Clary with a wry smirk. "Remember be telling you that my glitter wasn't the only thing that was magical about me?"

Clary nodded with wide eyes, and Jace had to hide a smile of his own. Despite the fact that he really didn't want her with him when he was going into danger, he still found her awe endearing.

Magnus was muttering a few familiar strings of Latin under his breath, and Jace watched as a shimmering rectangle appeared in front of them, resembling water.

Jace, who was too used to the portals to be in awe of them, looked down at his shorter companion and grinned. She looked like she was still trying to comprehend what was in front of her. It was true it wasn't everyday that someone's seemingly normal glittery friend started shooting blue fire from their fingertips and chanted a few gibberish sounding words to form a rectangle of water.

"Hate to ruin the moment," Sebastian said abruptly from the other side of Clary, "but if Jordan and Maia are in trouble, then we might already be too late."

Jace scowled at Sebastian. He wasn't sure what he hated more: the fact that he was right, or the fact that he was telling him what to do.

"Let's go," he snapped at him, grabbing Clary's hand. He looked at Clary, who was looking at him, clearly disturbed. "The portal is a bit disconcerting, but don't worry, I'll be right here."

She bit her lip and nodded. He stepped forward, and she walked with him. She had a false mask of calm on, and Jace respected her for the attempt.

The moment he stepped through the barrier, the chaos of ripping a hole in the universe and travelling through it hit him. Yes, it was every bit as bad as it sounded. He felt as though his entire body was being pulled in every different possible direction at the same time. The only part of him that seemed truly grounded was his right had, which was still firmly clasped on to Clary's.

Then it was over. He was standing gracefully on his feet, as usual, helping a severely disoriented Clary remain on hers. He looked up and around, taking in the shabby buildings, and the narrow streets off the dumpy main road. The sun was steadily getting lower in the sky. Jace silently urged them to hurry up; they really didn't have very much time before they were missed.

His eyes flickered to Clary, who was completely recovered from her trip, before roaming down the road past her to where the pack now called home.

Jace frowned, looking back at Simon, who had just appeared next to them. "Stay with Clary," he ordered shortly. He didn't wait for an answer before heading off toward the abandoned building. He thought that it might have once been a factory, or something of the sort.

When the building was within clear seeing distance, he stopped. The door was cracked open, which was strange in itself. Woolsey was a very homey person, he didn't go for much like open doors. Then he looked a bit closer. The doors were painted a faded green, but when he took a step closer, he saw that there was something shiny that was obscuring some of the uniform color. Fresh blood.

* * *

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	14. Chapter 14

_**Clary:**_

She watched with interest as the others all seemed to shimmer to existence through the watery looking portal. Simon had come through just after she and Jace had, and the blond had abruptly left them behind, barking at Simon to watch her...as if she needed a babysitter! Stupid attractive blonds and all their nerve.

Magnus was the last one out of the portal, and it closed after he set foot on the old ground. She hadn't heard Jace make his way back to them so when he put his hand on her shoulder, she flinched.

"Magnus, make another portal, dammit," Jace snapped at him.

Magnus blinked. "You do understand that the only reason that I do anything for you free of charge is because Alec is my boyfriend. I'm not going to be ordered around by you, no matter how handsome you are. Ask a little more nicely, and explain yourself, or you can cough up the cash like any other paying customer."

"Sorry," Jace said through clenched teeth not sounding sorry in the least. "Magnus, can you please conjure another portal, so Clary can go back through."

Magnus blinked. "Why would I do that?"

"I'm not going anywhere, Jace!" Clary snapped.

Before Clary could get another word out of her mouth, Jace's hand was clapped over it. She tried to tell him to removed his dammed hand or she was going to bite it, but all that came out was, "Hmm, hmm! Mmmm! Mmmmm!" She imagined the message was pretty clear, though...

Jace, being Jace, however, just completely ignored it. "Shh!" he hissed at her. "Yes you are," he assured her with a curt glare before turning to look at Magnus. "There's blood on the doorway, something's wrong. I'm not bringing her in there with us."

A strong feeling of hurt coursed through Clary, and she scowled at Jace. Did he really think that after nearly ten years of training with Izzy and Luke that she was incapable. Clary finally got sick of his over sized, calloused hand over her mouth, not to mention aggravated at Jon for not saying anything about it...they would have words later. She bit him right on his calloused palm. Hard.

Jace swore violently, snatching his hand away from her and shaking it in the air. Clary watched him amusedly, wondering what a casual bystander would think was going on. He shot her a glare, "Was that really necessary?"

"Was covering my mouth really necessary?" she snapped. "You could have said, _Hey, Clary, there's psychos in the building a few meters down from us, please keep quiet! _Anything along those lines really, prick, I'm not going anywhere, and you can't make me. Now quit whining like a three year old and let's help Jordan and Maia!"

"You're going back," Jace growled at her, "if I have to throw you through the portal."

Clary looked at her brother-Jon was just looking at them in silent amusement-incredulously. He wasn't coming to her aid like a big brother should. He was going to let Jace walk all over her. She knew the term 'bros before hoes' but, she didn't think it applied to her, considering the fact that they were blood related, and that, if anything, he was more her bro than Jace's!

It was Sebastian, her newfound favorite, who saved the day. "Dammit, Herondale," he snapped. "Can you please try and assert your male dominance when lives aren't at stake!"

Normally Jace was an agreeable person, albeit annoying, but he was always cheerful. The look he gave Sebastian was filled with so much loathing that it made Clary shiver slightly, glad that she wasn't at the receiving end.

"Quit fighting," Alec finally spoke up as he was taking an arrow out of his quiver, and stepping out of the shadow of the alleyway where they had all been standing to have their argument. "Your giving me a headache. Clary's here because she wants to be. Jace, you hate Seb, and the feeling's mutual. Beat the shit out of each other when we get back to the institute of you have to, just stop fighting now. Let's go." He never raised his voice, never even sounded angry, but everyone got quiet and listened to him.

Alec didn't pause to look at any of them, or to even make sure that they were following; he just marched toward the large and shabby two story brick building a few doors down on the opposite side of the street.

Everyone else got up and followed.

* * *

The place was huge. A lot bigger on the inside than she had been led to believe. Everything was made of brick, but, despite the abandoned feel on the outside, the inside felt quite homey. There were pictures of different people, even children, everywhere, decorations and different knickknacks were set out all over the place, and that was just the front room. Clary imagined the entire house was exactly the same way...

Except for the small fact that everything was in absolute disarray.

Broken glass and and smashed portraits cluttered the wooden floor, which was stained with blood in a pattern that resembled a sick form of splatter paint. The walls were scuffed and scratched horribly, and had the same pattern of staining as the floor. It looked as though a cyclone had hit the room, and from the look of horror on the others' faces the werewolves didn't live like this normally.

It was dead silent as the small group wandered inside. Clary was looking around in horror, but couldn't help feel a bit annoyed as she realized that Jace, Jon, and Sebastian were surrounding her.

What happened to Seb's insinuation that she could take care of herself? Jon hadn't really made a fuss about her being there either. Now all of them were watching her like hawks. This really was getting annoying.

Jem's calm voice broke through the eerie silence, causing Clary to flinch. She bumped into Sebastian, who put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Clary casted him a grateful smile.

"You know that we're going to have to split up, right?" her silvery haired friend questioned, his eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," Jace said, "I've got Clary." He abruptly grabbed her hand and snatched her away from Sebastian's hand and toward his side.

Clary looked over at Sebastian, who was looking at Jace with a neutral expression, though Clary swore she could see a slightly glimmer of annoyance. Then again, Jace was one of the most annoying people she knew, she could hardly blame him.

* * *

She and Jace were set to check the left hall of the top floor of the building while Alec and Magnus got the right. Jace had made a point to make sure that she was safely behind him, though if he had it his way, she would have been all the way behind him, completely out of sight. She made a point to stay slightly to the right so that she could at least take in what was in front of them.

So far no bodies had been found, and Clary was grateful. She knew from all of the blood that was splattering the floors and walls that at least a few things were bound to be dead. They came up to a door that was cracked open partially, and Jace paused. Crimson liquid was dripping off the wood on to a large puddle on the ground.

Her heart thudded harshly in her chest as Jace turned around. "Stay here, Clary," he said softly, putting his hands softly on her shoulders.

He didn't wait for a response. He swiftly moved away from her, and was through the door before she could even bat her eyes together again.

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and bit on it lightly as she looked down the long hallway, which cut a sharp ninety degree angle maybe thirty more meters left. Jace, who had been in the house numerous times before, said that Woolsey's own room was down there, and the entrance to the attic.

She looked back at the door, and she couldn't take it anymore. Jace had been about fifteen to thirty seconds, and it was too long. She pushed the door open and what she saw made her want to fall over crying, scream in bloody rage, and, most of all, do exactly what she did: fling her knife forward.

There were maybe five bodies strewn across a large bedroom, but she was unable to look at any of them in any kind of sharp detail because of Jace. Her companion was in the middle of the room, grappling with a red robed figure, both of them obviously trying not to trip over the mangled forms of the dead. Her knife hit home right in the middle of the robed person's back, and who ever it was dropped like a stone, taking Jace with them.

Clary rushed over to him, and shoved the robed ladened creep away from her friend. Jace was breathing heavily as he scrambled to his feet. He had small smears of blood on his clothes, and skin. One in particular on his left cheek. He just looked at her, his golden eyes widened in obvious shock. The look on his face was what drove home what just happened.

Clary felt herself start shaking slightly, but before she could start freaking out any further, Jace was there, his arms wrapped around her tightly. She buried her face in his chest, clutching on to the material as she did so. She barely registered her self being lifted from the ground and being removed from the carnage of the room.

No, she snapped at herself mentally as she felt her feet hit solid floor again, you knew what you signed up for! Freaking out isn't going help Jordan and Maia!

That thought calmed her down. She was right. Those people in the room were already dead, and the person that she had thrown the knife at was going to kill Jace, and had most likely been responsible for the murder of some of the innocent people at the house.

She let go of Jace's shirt, and he tentatively let go of her in return. She backed away half a step and looked up at him. He was looking at her with a worried expression and Clary casted him a weak smile, fighting back the nausea that she felt from the thought of the room.

He opened his mouth, and she she took a deep breath, prepared for the scolding about how he told her to wait outside.

"Are you okay?"

Wait. What?

Clary blinked and looked up at him inquisitively. "No yelling about disobeying your direct orders?" she questioned dryly.

"Wasn't planning on it," he replied. "I figured seeing what you did was bad enough, besides... you kinda saved me in there... Thanks."

Clary raised an eyebrow, if she hasn't just hadn't had permanent mental trauma done from the dead people in the room next to them, she would have sworn that she and Jace Herondale just had a moment.

* * *

_**Tessa:**_

She, Will, and Jem were walking slowly through what seemed to be the dining room of the home. It was in shambles.

The walls and floors were splattered with a fine mist of blood. The huge table was in splinters, with large parts of the wooden top and legs strewn across the room. Several chairs were broken as well, though some were still in tact, just upturned and bloodied. The elegant silvery rug, that had covered the wooden floor, was in red tinged shreds that scattered the floor like a mosaic. Of course, the most horrific scene was in the center of the room, where a lone body lay.

It was of a girl, not much younger than Tessa, maybe sixteen. She had light brown hair, and her skin was as pale as her own. Will, who had an undershirt on under his black gear shirt, took his shirt off and walked over to the girl, covering her up with it. Tessa's heart gave a small squeeze of affection at his attempt to respect her despite the dire situation that they were in. If Tessa wasn't lying to herself, she would much rather Will have kept the gear shirt on, it was more resilient to punctures and Tessa knew, only too well, how reckless Will was.

"You guys stay here and see what you can find in here," Will instructed, being sure to emphasize his point on where they would be, "I'm going to see what I can find from the kitchen."

Tessa fought the urge to roll her eyes, but it was Jem who spoke before she could. "We're not stupid, you know that, Herondale? This cold's been giving me problems for weeks, but I'm still a shadow hunter, and I'm going to do my job. Tessa is just as qualified as either of us. Now please, William, let's be sensible."

Tessa found the fact that Jem was asking Will to be sensible peculiar, but not as strange as she found the fact that Will actually consented. He nodded his head, despite the reluctant expression on his face, and sighed quietly.

As a group, both boys annoyingly taking a protective stance on either side of her, they walked toward the blood spattered white double doors. Will and Jem didn't even seem to look at each other, already working as a well oiled machine because of so many years of training together, before they simultaneously pushed the doors open. Tessa's eyes didn't even have time to take in the damage made to the kitchen before her eyed landed on a lone familiar person tied up in the middle of the room on top of a cracked marble island.

* * *

_**Jon:**_

He and Sebastian were searching through the basement, though for what he wasn't exactly sure. It wasn't exactly like it was a cliché mundane movie, where the captives were being held there and the guards were waiting for them with a huge hole left mistakenly in there defense. Yeah...things like that didn't really tend to happen.

They both had a flashlight in hand as they scanned the room, because as much as the members of the clave complained about using 'mundane technology' some things were brighter than their precious witchlight. Their light shined past the stacks of cardboard boxes and wooden crates, their shadows moving when they moved the lights. It was a strange look, really, almost as if everything was actually in motion.

It gave him the creeps. He knew that the name that the humans gave themselves in the alternate realm, Alicante, were shadow hunters, and that they prided themselves on being fearless, but he was a bit weary himself. It was probably the mundane in him coming out because Sebastian seemed to be completely at ease.

"Do you know what were looking for exactly?" Jon questioned almost inaudibly.

"You know," Sebastian's dry voice sounded, "a person with a sign around their neck that says 'guilty attacker'."

Jon snorted, and rolled his eyes.

"I don't actually know what were looking for," Sebastian informed him, shrugging his shoulders, as he moved his light beam over to another wooden crate, this one filled with what looked to be shackles. "Most likely something unsusal, though in Woolsey's house, the term 'unusual' probably can't be defined."

Jon snorted lightly, thinking of the tall blond man with the monocle. He was extremely odd, and slightly overbearing, but very friendly all the same. He looked around at some of the wooden boxes marked with different words like 'plates, Accords, Formal Dining, Holy Water.' The last one sparked Jon's interest, considering the fact that it was open, but before he could even mention it to Sebastian, there was a loud crash somewhere to his left.

* * *

_**Magnus:**_

The first room that he and Alec checked turned out to have something of immediate use and interest: Maia.

The room was almost completely empty, with only a bed and a single speck of blood on the floor beside the over turned bed. Magnus almost left the room without looking in the closet...almost. Then something told him to place a placating hand on Alec's shoulder. He was halfway out of the room before he turned around and looked back at Magnus with his beautiful blue eyes.

Ignoring that train of thought, he pointed toward the closed white door at the other side of the room, before letting his boyfriend go and walking toward it. He heard Alec's footsteps behind him a second later, most likely after a second of hesitation. Magnus placed his hand on the cold brass doorknob and turned, he pulled it open, and moved back just in time.

Maia's disheveled form rolled out in a sloppy heap. Magnus looked at her startled for a second before he knelt down to help her up, Alec seeming to come out of his shock at the same time. Metal hangers were entwined and twisted around her wrists and ankles to keep them bound together, and a sock was stuffed in her mouth while a shirt sleeve was tied around it to keep it in place to make sure she couldn't cry out.

"What in Raziel's name happened to you?" Magnus asked gently as he quickly untied the shirt from her face and pried the sock from her mouth.

He saw the tear tracks down her tanned cheeks, and didn't comment on them, nor did he comment on her puffy red eyes. If anyone had a reason to cry it was her. Magnus didn't see Jordan around anywhere, and he had a sinking feeling in his chest as to why, and he was praying that he was wrong.

"J-Jordan," she said shakily as Magnus started untwisting the hangers from her wrist as Alec worked on the ones at her feet. "He knew we were outnumbered, and that there was no way to get out. So when I told him I wasn't going to hide...he said that he was sorry and he knocked me out. I woke up like an hour in there like this. He was gone."

Magnus finished undoing the restraints on her wrists, and she threw her arms around his neck as she sobbed in his glittery chest. "How could he do this to me? He put himself into danger just to keep me safe that idiot!"

Magnus rubbed her back comfortingly, looking back at Alec, who had just finished releasing her ankles. His eyes glittered with worry that most likely was mirrored in his own. He had been entirely wrong, though Magnus wasn't entirely sure that it was a good thing...why,was Jordan being so violent with Maia, of all people?

"Have you seen him?" Maia asked frantically, pushing herself away from Magnus to look at him, her eyes even puffier.

Magnus halfheartedly wiped at some glitter that was on her right cheek. "It's very possible that one of the others have found him, Maia. We've only checked out this one room. There's still eleven more people looking around the house."

"And by eleven people, I don't imagine anyone of them are under the official orders of the Clave," Maia said, bitterness obvious in her tone.

"Didn't want to risk it," Alec replied. "It's us, Tess, Will, Jem, Seb, Jon, Izzy, Simon, Jace, and Clary, someone is bound to have found Jordan by now."

Maia seemed to be calmed slightly by the thought; she nodded and took a deep breath before scrambling to her feet. Magnus and Alec both slowly rose to theirs as Maia disappeared into the closet. She came back out a moment later with a small, six inch dagger, which she placed in a small sheathe that was just clipped on her jeans. Magnus knew that her real weapon of choice was the claws that she was able to summon at any time.

"Let's go and see about the rest of the house," she said, her voice strong and her expression calm. Magnus wouldn't have thought that she was worried if she hadn't had her face buried in his shirt, sobbing, a moment a moment ago.

"You're sure you're okay?" Alec asked worriedly. "We can wait here and fix your wrists and ankles first."

That was the first time Magnus really looked at the skin around her arms. They were black and blue, and blood was trickling down her hands from tears in her skin, probably where she had tried getting free. Her ankles were covered by a pair of jeans, but he figured that it was just as bad.

Magnus figured that Jordan was filled with good intentions, but he knew that his friend would hate himself as soon as he saw Maia. "We need to see if anyone else is alive first," Maia said firmly.

"We need to get those fixed up, Maia," Magnus said, his sharp voice left no room for discussion.

Maia frowned, and Magnus thought that she was mad at him for making her stop and get healed, but it wasn't really an angry look. It was a curious, and slightly confused one. "Do you hear that?" she questioned.

* * *

_**Izzy:**_

She and Simon had been walking with Sebastian and Jon until they found the basement. Of course, to prove their manly manliness, Jon and Sebastian had to check out the big and scary basement. Simon, who was apparently already secure with his masculinity, stayed with Izzy. By Raziel, it wasn't exactly a romantic date, but she was counting it as at least going out with him.

That sounded desperate enough to be pathetic. She was ashamed of herself. Simon was just so hard to read! Any other guy, and she wouldn't have hesitated in going after them, because she would have felt assured that the vibes that they gave off meant that they wanted more than friendship, but coming from Simon, she could never know! Not to mention that she was terrified of screwing up the precious friendship that they had going so far, because she really had known him for over half her life.

Her eyes scanned the sitting room that they had just entered as her mind raced with the possibilities of the boy next to her. Of course, all thoughts of relationships were gone when she took in the scene around her.

There was the usual upturned tables, holes in the walls, blood spattered flooring, and slashed in the furniture that was obviously claw marks. Then she saw a broken window, which would have let anyone with a slimmer frame through, but the glass wasn't on the ground on the inside. That made her heart slightly lighter with relief. That meant that someone from the inside broke the glass; hopefully somebody got out.

What confused Izzy so much, was if they got out, why hadn't they gone straight to the institute and altered the Clave? Simon seemed to notice the same thing, because he walked over and pushed himself on to the ledge. He looked out into the streets, his eyes flickering back and forth quickly.

Izzy walked toward him slowly, and just as she made it to the window with him, he jumped back down. He gzed down at her with a disheartened and confused look in his eyes. "There's a small trail of blood on the ground, outside. There's no telling how far it goes, but if you want to, we can finish with this before-"

He was abruptly cut off by the sound of a guy shouting in what was most likely surprise. Izzy and Simon both looked at each other for a second. She recognized the voice, and she was guessing that he recognized it to because he reached out, snatched her hand up, and said, "You go figure out what the hell that was about, I'm going to see where this leads."

Isabelle nodded and sprinted back toward where they had come in at, uncoiling the whip that was wrapped around her wrist like a fashion accessory. So much for a date.

* * *

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	15. Chapter 15

**Clary:**

He touched her cheek lightly with his fingertips, barely grazing her skin as he traced her jawline softly. "I don't want you seeing that again," he said quietly, "I don't care how well you took it. You left your knife in there." Clary met his burning golden gaze with her own confused one. He was really making it hard to concentrate on anything other than his hand on her skin, despite what she had just seen. "Can you please just wait here? I'll be back in ten seconds, tops. Please don't follow me inside again."

Clary just nodded mutely, feeling stupid for her sudden speechlessness. Then he was gone, disappearing past the bloodstained door, yet again. Before she could even completely inhale and exhale again, he was back. He shut the door behind him this time, the click audible in the still air. Taking another step toward her, he silently held out her red tinged weapon toward her, hilt first.

Clary took it with a barely audible thanks and sheathed it, looking down at the wooden floor. "Let's go," Jace said, offering her his hand.

Clary looked up at him, and saw that there was a weak attempt at a smile on his face, and she couldn't quite figure out why he was even pretending. The carnage in the other room had to be tearing him apart on the inside. It had to have been for her benefit. The thought made her heart flutter with a completely foreign emotion, and her stomach twist, turn, and tremble, though not unpleasantly.

She returned the weak smile with a sad one of her own, and placed her hand in his. There were four more bedrooms on the hallway, and Clary knew that there was a possibility that they all were exactly like the one that they just found, if not worse.

"Alright then," she murmured, "let's see what else we can find."

* * *

_**Jace:**_

It was official, Clary was going to be the death of him! She had to be permanently traumatized by seeing that many bodies. Sure, it tore Jace up inside, to the point of him wanting to lose his nonexistent lunch, but he halfway expected Clary to be in a ball, crying her eyes out. Not because he thought that she was weak, but because she wasn't used to it.

Children in Idris attended executions, revolts, and their training involved hunting actual demons, so death really wasn't all that much of a foreign concept to him. Clary, on the other hand, did not grow up on Idris. What he wanted to do was hold her close and tell her that everything was going to be okay, he knew that was what he should do...then she walks around like nothing's wrong with her, at all.

So there they were, holding hands, walking down a blood spattered hallway in silence, anticipating their next room.

They made it to the door and Jace saw that it was closed. He looked up and down the hallway before turning to look at Clary. "You don't have to come in with me, you know that, right? I'd actually prefer it if you'd stay out here where you're safer."

Her expression, which had been cold when he had first started talking, softened at his last two words. "You make me feel safe."

Jace's heart almost stopped at her words, and she flushed furiously, but he decided to let the last part slide in elation at what she just said. Of course his ego and pride swelled like no tomorrow, but that didn't matter, he'd gloat later...maybe to Jonathan...better yet, Sebastian.

"I'm glad," he said, managing to keep his voice level.

Her flush died a little, and a small smile tugged itself on her lips.

Score, he thought, didn't ruin the moment! He tried to turn the knob, and frowned. It wouldn't open. Locked. He swore under his breath, praying that Woolsey wouldn't take him ruining the furnishings to heart as he motioned for Clary to stand back. She stood to the side, and raised an eyebrow as he winked at her. He kicked his foot forward and slammed the bottom of it against the door. He heard the loud sound of splintering wood, and the door went crashing inside.

He heard a muffled yelp before his eyes could even process what was behind the green wood. He heard Clary's feather light footsteps against the wooden floor coming toward him as he leaned forward slightly, his entire body tensed, ready to shove her out the way, and attack any possible threat at the same time. There were no threats...only children. Small children.

There were about seven or eight of them, all ranging from around two to around four, and all of them were passed out on a large bed. He frowned slightly. Where'd the yelp come from? Then he saw it. There was one on the bed, she was maybe three and a half to four, her eyes were a bright green, and the whites were blood shot red. Her hands were bound behind her back, and she was rocking back and forth, trying to get his attention.

Moving as fast as he could, he made it to her side, and untied her bonds. Clary was by his side, gently pulling the fabric from her mouth.

"Sweetie," she said, her voice so calm and gentle that it made his heart beat slightly faster than normal, and she wasn't even talking to him. "Can you please tell me what happened?"

"Mommy!" she demanded, her eyes becoming teary again, and Jace bit his lower lip. Jace loved kids, but he didn't know how well he'd be able to protect a whining one if a group of those robed people came in, especially if she wasn't the only child he was looking after.

"Shh," Jace said, casting her a reassuring smile, taking her hand, and giving it a light squeeze. "We want to find your mommy, but you've got to tell us what happened so we can."

The girl blinked at him, calming down slightly, her lower lip was still jutted out, and her eyes were still shiny with unshed tears, but it was progress.

"What's your name sweetheart?" Clary asked gently, as she and Jace both knelt down in front of the bed so that they were both eye level with the toddler.

"Maggie," she said.

Jace saw Clary raise a slight eyebrow, and he knew it was most likely out of shock. Three year olds normally didn't talk with the level of clarity that Maggie was talking with...not in the mundane realm anyway. It was because the shadow hunter children began all of their training so much earlier.

"Alright, Maggie," Jace said, grabbing her other hand, so that he was holding both of hers, and squeezing both of them at the same time. He smiled at the child as calmingly as he could and said, "If you could tell me what you know, maybe I could find your mama."

Maggie visibly swallowed and nodded. "Well, mama, daddy, and I stay in this room. We were about to go down to grab something to eat when they heard this loud yelling noise. It was really scary, but mommy told me I was a big and brave girl and that big and brave girls knew how to stay quiet in their rooms." she sat up slightly straighter, clearly proud that she did what her mother told her to do. Jace was relieved that she had, a three year old most likely would have been collateral damage. "The yelling kept getting louder and people were screaming for help, but mommy told me not to move, no matter what I heard. Then two huge people in red blankets walk in and they tied me up. Stupid meanies. They had a bunch of other little kids with them," she gestured to the other, not conscious, children, around her.

Clary gently rose to her feet, and he heard her feet, hit the ground walking as she paced back and forth. Jace looked over at Clary with a raised eyebrow. She was biting her lip; her green eyes held an analytical look, as if she was trying to plan out their next move. Good thing too, because Jace really had no idea what to do. Small children had a tendency to complicate things.

"We need to find Magnus," Clary said finally, looking around at the rest of the children, before snapping her gaze back on him "Another portal needs to be made to send them to the institute."

"Love it when a woman takes charge," Jace said, trying to keep things light as he winked at her.

Instead of brushing it off, or snapping at him like he was expecting, she just smiled weakly at him. He looked at Clary, who seemed content in holding his gaze, for another second before he turned back around and looked at Maggie, who had watched the exchange between them silently, with wide watery eyes. He smiled at her, and squeezed her hands one more time before letting them go.

He stood up, and walked over to where Clary was pacing and caught her by the shoulders, stopping her in mid-stride. He tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear, and she looked at him with her lips slightly parted, as if she was about to say something, but the words just seemed to die in her throat.

"Stay here," he said quietly to her. "I need you to watch the children, I'm going to go and find Mags."

Clary looked as though she was going to argue, but Jace was shocked when she wrapped her short arms around his middle and buried her face into his chest. "Be careful, you stupid idiot."

"I promise," Jace said, hugging her back, a smile tugging itself on the corner of his mouth.

"No," Maggie cried. "Don't get Mag-us, Woosie is in trouble!"

Clary and Jace broke apart and Jace asked, "Where?"

"His room, the man in the red blanket-"

"Stay here!" Jace snapped at Clary dashing out the room, jumping over the fallen door and down the hall.

* * *

_**Jem:**_

Jordan Kyle was laying on the countertop, tied up with what resembled fishing line. It was digging in to his wrists so badly that his hands where as close to bloodless as they were going to get before completely losing circulation, blood was dripping from where his wrists were bound, and from numerous cuts on his face, neck, and chest where his shirt had been halfway torn at the top. He, Will, and Tessa stood frozen to the spot, taking in the sight of the poor guy before rushing forward to free him of his restraints.

Once the fabric had been freed from his mouth, and he had been given time to curse extensively at whoever attacked him, he said, "Where the hell's Maia?"

"I don't know, man," Will said, "we've only just started looking. "Where'd you last see her?"

"Our room," he replied. "She wouldn't stay so I had to knock her out and put her in the closet."

"You did what?" Will demanded, taking a step toward him. "Are you crazy?"

"I have my reasons!" Jordan snapped. "I have to find her! Of all places, I thought she'd have been safe in a werewolf den!"

"We can figure out who's right and wrong later," Jem said hastily, putting a hand on Will's shoulder.

"You're right," Jordan said, "because right now I need to find her." He tried to shoulder past Will and Tessa, and Will pushed him back, knocking him into the counter top, with a painful thud.

"Calm down!" Tessa pleaded, placing herself between Will and Jordan, who looked as though he was about to jump on Jem's best friend, and rip him limb from limb, though Will didn't look any less murderous.

Jem sighed and grabbed Will by his undershirt and flung him backward, so that he was also standing between the two boys. "We have a job to do, Will," Jem snapped, surprised by how impatient he sounded. He quickly got his emotions back under control and said, "Now let's all calm down and finish with the rest of the house."

The anger in Will's eyes died and he nodded curtly. Jem turned around and saw that Tessa had her hands placatingly on Jordan's shoulders, and that he was nodding as well.

"This was Valentine," the werewolf informed them, running a hand through his tangled hair.

Will paled, "Don't say that."

Jem felt his own heart sink, and Tessa's eyes seemed to bulge slightly.

"Valentine just escaped," Tessa said, her voice was calm and steady, as if she was trying to talk sense into him, "how could he already be attacking clans? Especially one as powerful as this one?"

"You're all freaking geniuses compared to me!" Jordan exclaimed, grabbing fistfuls of his hair. He actually looked half mad for a moment. "You're telling me that something doesn't look slightly suspicious to you?"

"Calm down," Jem urged, "please, just take a deep breath and tell us what's suspicious."

Jordan's eyes narrowed as he looked at Jem, he could see the distrust in them. He gave Will and Tessa the same look before turning back to Jem and saying, "What I find suspicious is that none of you guys have figured this out yet!"

"Look," Will snapped, visibly loosing his patience, "either you tell us what the hell you know, or-"

He was cut off by a startled shout coming from somewhere else in the house.

Tessa inhaled sharply, "Dear Raziel, was that Jon?"

* * *

**Random early update! What do you think so far?**


	16. Chapter 16

_**Jon:**_

_**CRASH!**_

He and Sebastian both visibly jumped at the unexpected sound. His wrist immediately directed the flashlight beam to the area of the noise. The large silhouette of a man was unmistakable.

"Look what I've got here," a cold and deep voice said as it stepped forward, shedding light on to his figure. "Sebastian Verlac and Jonathan Morgernstern."

"I go by Jonathan Fray, actually," Jon said, his heart sinking despite how calm his voice was.

As soon as the man stepped into the way of the flashlight, Jon knew who he was, because it was like looking into a mirror...well, plus maybe twenty years or so. The same blond hair, tanned skin, and muscular build.

"Jocelyn wasn't even your mother," Valentine informed him coolly, taking another step forward. Jon mimicked him, except he took a step backward. Not the best strategy since he was going away from the stairs, but he figured it was better than going toward a certified lunatic.

He noticed that he could no longer see Sebastian, and that greatly worried him. He was somewhere in the basement, though, and since Jon could still see Valentine, he was counting on the fact that Seb was still okay. Maybe he had something up his sleeve. Knowing that he had no other option but to believe that, he decided to keep Valentine talking.

"She was a better mother than you were a father," Jon spat. "And Luke-"

"_Lucian_," Valentine hissed the name like it was a disease. "Downworlder scum is what he was-is. He, and that wretched mother of yours, will only bring you down. You, and your sister."

Jon froze slightly, not liking the way he mentioned Clary, the tone of his voice sounded like he had a few knives in his tone, just to hurt him. "Stay away from her, you psychotic bastard," Jon growled threateningly.

Valentine smiled cruelly and said, "I imagine she's with Herondale. He's taken quite a liking to her, from what I've heard."

"_Heard_?" Jon snapped, "how have you heard anything? You've been in prison!"

There was a dark glint in Valentine's eyes. This man was truly mad. "I think I might just pay dear Clarissa a bit of a visit, since Jocelyn's made her completely useless to me."

Jon tensed, about to spring forward, but before he could, another outline from the darkness to his right flew into view and slammed into Valentine. The man's large frame stopped him from falling, but he did stumble back a few steps before regaining his balance. Jon saw Sebastian there, sword out, ready for a fight.

Jon's hand wrapped around the hilt of his own weapon, and he started rushing forward, his flashlight still trained on Valentine as he did so. Before he could even get halfway to them, Valentine chuckled as if Sebastian was an amusing dog, and his hand flashed forward. Jon saw it clasp around Sebastian's neck, and Valentine looked at him and said, "Time for me to go home, I guess we can settle this later."

Jon redoubled his pace, but it was too late. Valentine's foot connected with his chest, sending him flying back a few feet before crashing to the hard floor and hitting his head. His vision was dimming as he tried to sit up. "Sebastian!" he called, his head pounding with the effort. "Clary!" He tried to get up, but he wasn't oriented enough to get off his knees. He fell right back down on to the stone floor, smacking his head yet again. His vision got even dimmer, and he tried to call Clary's name out again, but it got stuck in his throat as darkness overtook him.

_**Alec:**_

"You do understand that we need to alert the clave now that we have substantial proof that something's up," Alec said as they all walked out of the room.

"Magnus!" a familiar voice shouted from behind the group.

Jumping slightly, Alec turned around and saw a familiar head of curly red hair. Clary's green eyes were frantic, and relieved at the same time...talk about conflicting emotions.

"What is it, Clary?" Magnus asked, already moving past Alec and toward her. Alec and Maia were right behind him. "Where's Jace? Is he okay?"

"I don't know, he left me in a room with a bunch of children! Woolsey's is trouble, and I couldn't leave them, but I knew I had to find-"

She was babbling at that point, and Magnus seemed to realize this as well. He clasped a hand over her mouth, and said, "Calm down. Lead me to the kids."

"Where's Woolsey?" Maia demanded.

"Jace has it covered," Magnus said calmly. "Let's get the kids out of here before we do anything else."

Clary moved past Alec to hug Maia, exclaiming, "God, I'm glad you're okay!"

"We can celebrate later," Magnus said. "Let's go!"

When they got to the children's room, Alec had never seen such a disturbing sight. He wasn't openly fond of children, but he didn't mind them. His brother, Max, was only young and excluded a comforting innocence. So it was like envisioning his brother, at various stages of his life, unconscious several times all over the room.

There was only one of them awake, a girl with curly brown hair and green eyes, and she was standing beside the fallen door, her eyes wide with fear. As soon as she saw Clary, she calmed down. "Is this Mag-us?"

She pointed to Alec, who shook his head furiously. That was the first time he had ever been confused with Magnus, by a child or not. It still kind of shocked him.

"That would be me, sweetie," his boyfriend said, stepping forward.

"That's it," Clary said, startling Alec. She'd been so quiet the entire walk.,"I can't take it anymore!"

Without another word, she dashed out the room, and to the right. "Where is she-" Alec began to ask, only to be cut off by the child.

"To help Jace with Woosie!" the little girl said. "Woosie's in trouble!"

Alec casted one look to Magnus, who signed and nodded. "Maia, you're staying here. You'd better be careful Alexander."

He barely registered the outraged expression on Maia's face as he whirled around and bounded after Clary.

* * *

_**Simon:**_

He was jogging down the streets, feeling like one of those detectives on the mundane television shows. Following a trail of cryptic clues to find the killer...maybe he was the shadow hunter creation of Sherlock Holmes. He rolled his eyes at his nerdy thoughts. Isabelle would never actually give him the time of day, he was a dork on the inside and the outside, shadow hunter or not.

The trail was a small trickle of blood every six or seven feet. It was most likely from a cut from a jagged bit of glass. He looked up at the sky and swore quietly; the sun was maybe ten minutes from setting, and the blood trail had led him through a narrow and dumpy dirt street that ended right in front of the forest. He saw a puddle of blood right at the front of the trees and a bit more leading inside.

He slowly walked forward, wishing that he hadn't given both flashlights to Jonathan and Sebastian.

The thought of the two boys made him worried. Were they even okay?

No, he couldn't think about that. Izzy was covering it, and if anyone was capable, it was her.

He only had to walk a few feet behind the dense cover of the trees before the trail of blood abruptly ended. It wasn't exactly what he thought that he would find.

There was a man laying face down on the ground. His large and muscular frame was covered by a red robe. His head was maybe ten or so feet from his body. A mortified expression was the last thing that his face had ever made, and would ever make.

His stomach churned slightly, but he wasn't too grossed out. He'd seen bloodier executions. On the corpse's back was a folded piece of parchment, with his name signed on the front of it. The thought of what was inside made him slightly nauseated. He had a feeling he knew who sent it.

* * *

_**Will:**_

They met Izzy on the way down the stairwell to the basement. "You heard it too?"

Izzy nodded mutely before the four of them dashed downstairs. Will swore as his eyes were met with complete darkness. "Bloody hell! It's dark as midnight down here! How in the name of Raziel did they see anything?"

"I imagine they had flashlights," Tessa said. Her voice sounded calm and normal on the outside, but he could hear the condescending note to it.

He grinned sheepishly toward the direction of her voice. Sometimes he really needed to think before stupid things started coming out of his mouth. He was wracking his brain for something smart to say, when Jem cut him off.

"I see a light!"

Will's eyes had grown accustomed to the immense darkness, so he was able to make out the silhouette of his silver haired friend. Jem finished his descent of the stairwell in a sprint. Will spotted the illumination as well. There was a dim light glowing faintly, but it was barely visible. Something must have been covering it up.

He quickly followed his friend, and heard the pattering footsteps of the two girls behind him. He really wished Tessa would stay back. He knew Izzy could take care of herself, but the thought of Tessa so much as getting scratched left a pang in his chest.

He and Jem reached the light at the same time, and before they had even reached it, what had been covering the lense was obvious: a hand.

"Tess," Will called, "you were right. This is Jon."

Jem grabbed the light from Jon's palm and shined it over his form. "This is beyond me," he said. "Tessa, you're going to have to see what you can do."

Will took in Jon's injuries. He was cut up and bloodied on his face, torso, and arms, and his one leg seemed to be sitting at an awkward angle. That wasn't the worst part. The most gruesome part was the pool of blood that was slowly leaking from the back of his head. If Jon didn't get help soon, they were in trouble.

"Where's Sebastian?" Izzy demanded, turning around in circles in the basement apparently thinking that she would somehow acquire night vision if she tried hard enough.

"Don't know," Will said, "Maybe he went in search of help-"

"Which is what we need to do," Tessa declared. "I might be able to slow the blood flow with a few spells, but that's not really my area of expertise. We need Magnus."

"Izzy, Jem," he looked at them pleadingly, not wanting to leave Tessa in this place, which was making him feel worse and worse by the minute.

"We're on it," Isabelle confirmed, grabbing Jem by the hand and pulling him toward the stairs. He heard their feet hitting the stairs getting fainter and fainter until he could no longer tell where they were.

Will smiled a hopefully comforting smile toward Tessa. "I'm sure that they'll be back soon."

* * *

**Alright! Another update! Aren't I a great person?! ;-) Hope you liked the chapter. Sorry for the non-detailed fight scene. It wasn't supposed to be detailed, mostly because Jon was unconscious during the part when he got all the cuts and bruises. Anyways...I hope you liked the chapter!**

**Sorry for the lack of Jace...don't worry, next chapter has extra sexy blond guy. PPromise**


	17. Chapter 17

_**Jace:**_

He considered the fact that he was able to find the excuse of the children to keep Clary out of harm's way to be a clever victory on his part. She most likely didn't think so. Yeah...she was _so_ going to kill him, that was counting on the fact that those red robed people didn't kill him first.

That was the wry thought that brought him back to his task: dashing down the hallway, taking a sharp left turn, and running a few more feet before hitting a dead end with a door. Before he could gather his thoughts enough to talk himself out of what he was about to do, he just kicked the door down.

It fell to the ground with a loud thud, and Jace jumped inside. He was hit with a very bizarre scene, indeed. Woolsey was sitting in an armchair, his back to Jace, with a cup of tea on a small table beside him. It was still steaming hot, which meant that it was freshly made, but Jace didn't think that freshly made tea was even possible given the circumstances.

"Was it really necessary to break my beautifully carved door down?" Woolsey whined.

"What-"

"Ah, Jace!" Woolsey exclaimed. "Thought it was you! You're always breaking something. Could you do me a favor? The chap that tied me up is currently sleeping on my bed due to a bit too much to drink. I'd appreciate it if you'd take care of him for me."

Jace sighed, "And how exactly did you get tied up with just one guard?"

"Silver darts are very immobilizing," he said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Ah," Jace said curtly as he leisurely walked toward the large, and plush canopy bed. A lone figure was sprawled out on the blankets. The strong scent of alcohol assaulted his nose, and Jace raised an eyebrow. "This guy reeks."

"I'm aware," Woolsey said gravely. "I've had to endure the stench for the past hour or so. Please put him out of my misery."

"Sorry, Woolsey," Jace sighed, prodding at the drunken man's sleeping form. "Can't kill him-"

"Well then cut me loose," he grumbled. "I'll kill him myself."

"No," Jace said placatingly, watching in disgust as the drunkard stirred slightly, slurring unintelligible noises. "We need him to present to the Clave, I'm sure they'd appreciate this nice gift."

"Don't care what those bastards would like," Woolsey grumbled, but he remained silent as Jace abruptly shoved the man off the bed.

He landed with a loud thud, and Jace watched with minor amusement as he staggered to his feet. "Enjoying your nap?" he questioned.

The man opened his mouth partially, as if he was about to say something, but he seemed to think better of it. He reached for his scabbard, which Jace smiled slyly and held up, waving it in the air in front of him.

"Looking for this, I imagine?"

He heard the sound of rapid footsteps, and he knew that someone was running toward them.

"You didn' tink that it would be that easy," the man slurred.

Hating the uneasy feeling that he was getting by the man's superior attitude, Jace, stepped forward and swung his fist around. He felt the satisfaction of the cartilage of his nose crunching under his knuckles. The robed man doubled over, cupping his broken nose in his hands, blood was gushing past his slightly parted fingers.

He brought his leg up in a sharp kick to his jaw, and the man went sprawling back to the ground. He would be out cold for quite a few hours. Making a quiet grunt of satisfaction, he walked over to Woolsey, who was humming quietly to himself.

Jace took a dagger from his belt as he walked into the werewolf's view and quickly released his hands and feet, which were bound in silver lined rope. "From the sound that the man made when he hit the floor, I'd have to say that was a nice hit."

Jace grinned at man and opened his mouth to reply, when the pattering sound of running steps got even louder. He didn't feel scared; he never did when he was fighting, but he didn't feel alert and tense. His head snapped abruptly toward the door as his eyes narrowed into slits. He crouched slightly, prepared to spring at whoever it was. His dagger was firmly in his hand...and Clary came stumbling toward the door.

"Clary?"

A whirlwind of emotions ran through him, going from relief that she wasn't a enemy and that she was okay, to concern that she wan't with the children and of what could have happened to her alone, and finally anger at the fact that she didn't listen to him again.

He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her, caging her body against his. He wasn't about to let her go anytime soon. "Thank Raziel, you're okay," he breathed in her ear shakily.

She didn't say anything, but she looped her arms loosely around his neck and rested her head against his chest. It was better than anything else she could say.

"Why didn't you listen to me?" he demanded, as he finally let her go, his hands sliding so that they were loosely on her waist.

She looked at him for a moment, her hands resting on his chest. Her eyes flickered behind him and she flushed. Jace felt himself flushing slightly as well; he had forgotten that Woolsey was in the house too.

"As touching as this was," Woolsey said, "I'm afraid that we need to go, I'm a bit faint from the silver dart and seeing as you're children-" he stumbled slightly, as he saw the look of outrage on Jace's face, "-skilled children, but children all the same-I'm responsible if something goes wrong."

Jace sighed and dropped his hands. "Fine, let's find-"

"I'm afraid something's already gone wrong, Scott," a cold voice said. Jace turned from Woolsey back to the doorway and swore. How had he missed the trio of robed men sneaking up on the threshold. They were all thick framed men, and most likely should have had a much heavier walk. First rule of shadow hunter training, however, was that you could be as light as you wanted to be. Someone clear had managed to master that art.

All of them had their hoods, up, so Jace was unable to make out any distinguishing features...other than the fact that they made Simon look like a stick figure. _Alright_, Jace scolded himself, _you can think of more insulting thought about Lewis later._

"Is that right, Stormwalker?" Woolsey asked, his arms crossed. He tried to look imposing, and Jace didn't doubt the fact that he normally could inflict some serious damage, but at the moment, he wasn't exactly his most stable. Even the untrained eye could tell.

"Yeah," the front man said. It was the same man that spoke the first time. Jace could sense the smile in his voice despite the fact that he couldn't see his face. "That's right, you downworlder scum. Why don't you just let us take the two kids and we'll kill you quickly."

"We aren't children," Clary snapped, shocking Jace.

"Yeah, girly," the brute on Stormwalker's right flank rumbled, "you sure about that?"

"Yeah, and I'm sure that you're on steroids! How about I show you I'm not a child, because I'm pretty sure I can kick you're sorry ass!" she spat, crossing her arms and giving him a come-at-me look.

Jace was beyond words. He loved her fiery temper when it was directed at him, it was hot, but this was different. He hadn't seen her angry at another guy, other than Jon, and the glowing anger was still there, and still hot. He really could kiss her.

He tore his eyes off Clary and back to the group of three men, who were staring at them in stunned silence, before they all bursted out laughing.

"Guys," Jace said, smiling nastily. They all quietened, apparently waiting for another good laugh. "She was serious."

He unsheathed his sword and jumped in one fluid motion, a cocky smirk settling comfortably on his face.

They were all trained shadow hunters, so, as much as he would have loved to have said that he took them out in one leap, he couldn't. They all scattered out of the way, and the tip of his sword managed to catch the tip of Stormwalker's hood. It brought it down, revealing his face and nicking his cheek.

He wasn't handsome in the least, with muddy brown eyes, pasty white skin, and greying black hair that looked as though it had been struck by lightning.

His hand cupped his cheek where Jace's sword had hit home, and Jace's smirk widened, "It'll probably improve your looks."

"Yeah, pretty boy?" he growled, his right arm impatiently pushing his cloak out of the way as he grabbed the hilt of his huge silver sword. Jace heard the sharp hiss as he unsheathed it. "Let's see how much this improves yours."

"Impossible to improve perfection," Jace quipped, ducking nimbly out of the way of a harsh swing. As soon as he straightened up, he brought his own blade up and blocked another incoming blow to his right and as he did so, he kicked the flat of his foot forward, landing a solid blow to Stormwalker's gut and propelled himself into a back flip. As he was off the ground, he managed to make contact with some part of the man's head, and earned a shout of pain.

He landed on one knee with one palm pressed on the ground. He looked up and saw his opponent trying to get his balance back. Not if Jace had anything to do with it. He pushed himself forward, but Stormwalker was a bit more oriented than he thought. As soon as Jace got close enough, he grabbed him by the shoulder, and used his momentum to drive him to the ground. He landed there with a painful thud, but was much too prideful to make any noise.

"Black haired boy made the same mistake," Stormwalker gloated. "The look in his eyes right before we knocked him out...looked like someone electrified him. Yours aren't blue, but I wonder if you'll look the same way."

Alec. They hurt Alec.

The anger unfroze him, he rolled to the size before his opponent could stomp on him, and scramble to his feet. "Where's Alec, you son of a bitch?" Jace growled. "Tell me, and I'll think about killing you quickly."

Stormwalker laughed as Jace jumped at him, blocking his sword strike and uppercutting him. Jace tasted blood in his mouth as he fell to his knees. He looked up at Stormwalker as he smiled superiorly down at him. "I wouldn't worry about him, he's safe in a bedroom, unlike you and you're little friend. I like my women fiery, I wonder if that redhead's into older men."

That was when Jace completely and utterly snapped. He was seeing red as he jumped to his feet, and then he didn't really recall much of anything. He remembered very vaguely jumping to his feet, and swinging his sword so hard at the man that when he tried to block the blow that he own blade went out of his hand, and then Jace dropped his own weapon. He recalled pouncing at him, and then he blacked out from the pure anger.

**No flaming torches or axes, please...I have a good explanation! No WiFi for three days! Oh, and a newfound obsession with teen wolf *sigh* Derek Hale... Anyways. As promised: your extra sexy blond guy was delivered, and was kicking ass! Gotta love Jace!**

**Hopefully I'll have chapter 18 up soon.**


	18. Chapter 18

_**Magnus:**_

It was nice to be wanted. It really was, but when he was wanted by too many people and all of them seemed to be involved in life-or-death situations, someone seriously needed to stop wanting him.

One would think that under any circumstances, anywhere, that unconscious children and alerting government officials would be the most important thing for anyone to do on a to-do list. Then Jem and Izzy dash into the room.

He and Maia had been alone with the kids for maybe three minutes. He was looking over the group of them, making sure that they were okay for portal travel before getting them out. They were okay, just unconscious, and he was about to start working on a portal back to the institute when he heard the hurried footsteps. The selfish part of him, that he would shamelessly admit to, was hoping that Alec was rushing back because everything was okay. He was disappointed to see that Alec was not who walked through the doorway.

It took him only a moment to take in their distraught expressions and know that something had gone disastrously wrong. He felt a burning pain behind his eyes starting to creep up, and he vaguely wondered if warlocks could get migraines. He supposed anything was possible.

"What happened?" he asked before anyone could get a word out of their mouth.

"Jon needs help, he's losing a lot of blood," Izzy said frantically. "We left Will, Jordan, and Tessa in the basement with him to come and get you. We've got to go. Now!"

Magnus had a feeling that he had maybe ten seconds before she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him to where she wanted to go. The look on Jem's face-the man who was always carefully controlled-told Magnus that he had no time to lose.

"Izzy," Magnus barked, forsaking the portal idea, "take me to him. Jem you better be as good with kids as I remember!"

"I'll go-" Maia started, only to be cut off.

"No," Magnus said quickly. "I know you want to see Jordan, but that'll have to wait."

Maia gulped and nodded, biting her lip. Magnus and Izzy ran out of the room. Isabelle flashed her worried brown gaze over her shoulder toward the room, and said, "What the hell happened in there?"

"I wish I knew," Magnus sighed. "I just work here."

They were dashing down the staircase when she asked, "How is Maia?"

"As well as can be expected considering the fact that Jordan, being the dumb ass with good intentions that he is knocked her out and stuffed her in a closet."

"He did what?" Izzy cried, stumbling down a couple steps from shock before regaining her her balance and finishing her descent in her normal grace.

"Trust me," Magnus sighed, right behind her, allowing her to take the lead, "He had his reasons."

They made it to the dark stairwell, and Magnus sighed, "What possessed Jon to go down _there?"_

"It was him and Seb," Izzy replied as she started to walk down them. "We have no idea where Sebastian is, though."

"That's not good," Magnus said worriedly, hurrying after her, ready to get Jon fixed up.

* * *

_**Clary:**_

She so managed to kick that huge brute's ass! He was all big and bad until she did exactly what Luke showed her to do when her opponent was way taller than her: bring them to their knees. And since she was short, or as Luke always insisted, _vertically challenged_, she was taught to aim low. One kick between the legs, and knife hilt to the back of the head later, the guy was on the ground.

Woolsey, who was slightly disoriented, seemed to be handling himself just fine, in fact his opponent would probably never get up again. Woolsey himself had blood spattered all over his house coat, and the monocle that he had on when she first saw him was nowhere to be found. He looked slightly more wild and feral, which was most likely his wolf side coming out.

That was when she registered Jace. Jace was the most capable person she ever met, which meant that he should have been able to take the guy down in half the time it took her to take hers down. He was literally on top of Stormwalker, his fist flying into the man's face repeatedly. Blood was splattering everywhere, including on him, and Jace didn't even seem to register it, or the fact that the man was unconscious.

She stood in place for a moment, watching in wide eyed shock as his fist flew forward again, hitting the man's nose. Blood spattered again, coating Jace in even more of it, and once again, he seemed oblivious to the fact. Then she spurred herself into action.

She scrambled forward, calling out, "Jace!" as she went. He didn't pause, and neither did she.

Clary jumped forward and bodily removed him away from the other man, who was starting to resemble a bloody pulp. Jace rolled away from her, trying to get back to him, but Clary wrapped her arms around his neck from behind before he could get more than a foot.

"Get off me!" he snapped, "I'm going to kill him!"

_"Jace!"_ Clary yelped. "Are you crazy? Calm down!"

Jace didn't respond, other than struggling to remove her hands from him, which he was getting very close to doing. Woolsey, Clary just realized, was in between Jace and Stormwalker, and was kneeling down in front of the blond.

"I say, Jace," he mused, "you really should calm down. You're frightening dear Clary."

With that Jace tensed, and Clary was truly afraid that he was about to break her grip and jump at Woolsey, but his shoulders slumped after a moment. "Oh, sweet Raziel, what have I done?" Jace muttered, his head smacking against the wooden floor.

"You two stay here," Woolsey instructed, getting to his feet. "I'm going to contact the clave." Without another word, he walked out of the room.

Clary slowly let go of Jace's neck, and he just sighed.

"Are you okay?" she asked, hating how meek her voice sounded.

He didn't respond right away, he didn't stiffen, or do anything to signal that he even heard her. Until he spoke. "You're terrified of me now, aren't you?" he asked, his voice sounded so dull and weak that it actually hurt to hear.

"N-no!" Clary exclaimed, shocked. "I couldn't ever be afraid of you, Jace."

He turned himself over so that he was facing her, both of them still laying on the floor for some strange reason. She felt his hand on her face as he gently asked, "You're okay, right? I'm over here worrying about me when-"

She placed her hand over his, her heart fluttering violently. She gave him her best smile and said, "I'm fine, Jace. Told you I can take care of myself."

Jace breathed out a light laugh, giving her a sly smile, "I know. You know it's a quality I find very hot."

Clary snorted and shook her head, "Such a flirt."

He winked at her, "Red hair drives me crazy."

_"You_ drive me crazy," she muttered, looking at the floor as she rested her head on the ground.

She saw him roll toward her, but she didn't move. His arm wrapped around her waist and dragged her limply against him. "You like it," he breathed in her ear.

Clary tried and failed to fight off a smile. Jace was so stupid sometimes. "C'mon," he sighed, "someone's coming."

His arm moved from around her and he rose to his feet almost too fast for her to register. Stupid fit blond guys.

"Jace, Clary?" a frantic voice cried from the hallway.

Clary knew that voice. "Oh God," she muttered as she slowly sat up. "I am so dead."

* * *

**Wonder who that could be...**

**Another update, and so soon *gasp*! I hope you all enjoyed your Clace moment, which I tried not to make too sickeningly sweet. And lol Jace's new nickname is 'Sexy Blond Guy' because he so is. Lol. Just like Will is 'Sexy Blue Eyes' lol.**

**Oh, and that big Jace/Clary moment that you're all most likely looking forward to, you know the one that you've been hinting around about in the reviews, that one? It's not far off, never fear! And can anyone tell me WTF is up with Jordan?**


	19. Chapter 19

_**Jace:**_

Having Henry as your authority figure was a good thing when it came to punishment. He was very lenient. Especially when Charlotte was too angry to verbalize any sort of scolding.

They were the two people monitoring the minors as they went through the portal made by another warlock highered out by the Clave. The entire house was in the midst of being scoured, but of course he was no longer inside it. No, he was back in the institute, along with the others.

Luke had been the one to find him and Clary and had waisted no time informing them about how stupid they had been. Of course, his voice had been extremely frantic from the hallway because he had spoken to Woolsey before he had found them. Woolsey had told Luke that he had left him and Clary on the floor in his room before running off to help check the house. So the fact that Luke most likely thought that they were half dead hadn't helped his raging hysteria. His debilitating relief that they were okay, might have been what saved their necks.

They all sat in the infirmary, keeping the wounded company.

Clary, who hadn't known about Jon, Alec, or Maia being hurt was running from bedside to bedside fussing over them. Of course, Jace hadn't known about Jon or Maia, and almost strangled Jordan after he figured out what he had done, had been relieved to find out that they were both okay and that there was no lasting damage.

Jordan was sitting beside Maia's bedside, one of her hands clasped in both of his, leaning his head against her shoulder as he spoke softly in her ear so that only she could hear. Somebody had some major ass kissing to do. He seemed to be off to a pretty good start considering Maia hadn't put a hole between his eyes...yet.

Jace was sitting on an uncomfortable wooden stool beside Jonathan's bed. Jon hadn't woken up yet, but no one was expecting him to be up for quite a while. Clary was across from him, and Jace felt a corner of his lips tugging upward as her eyes locked with his. Even exhausted, battered, and filthy, she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

He blinked hard and adverted his eyes. He really had to stop thinking those disgustingly mushy thoughts. Or it was going to be how Luke was when he was friend-zoned by Jocelyn all those years. He refused to be like that though.

Izzy, Tessa, Will, and Jem were all sitting in a corner beside Alec's bed. All of them were muttering quietly to each other, most likely giving Alec and the Warlock who was sitting across from them, a bit of privacy. Everything was pretty peaceful, and Jace liked it. He was all for fighting, and the rush of battle, but the peace was something that he could get used to also.

He sighed quietly and leaned his elbow against his knees, thinking about leaving everyone to go and take a shower. He was seriously even considering joking around with Clary and offering to let her join him. Though, it wasn't really time for joking, Simon and Sebastian weren't back yet, and no one knew why. Well, Jace imagined Jon knew why Sebastian wasn't there, but Izzy said that Simon followed a blood trail somewhere, but she couldn't do much other than specify what cardinal direction he had gone in.

The peace minus the stress would be even better. "They found most of the wolves!" an excited voice shouted as the doors to the infirmary slammed open.

It was like thinking of Simon made him appear. The olive toned geek was standing in the threshold, hands on his sides, grinning from ear to ear. Jace hated to admit how much relief he felt from seeing him there. "Simon!" Clary and Izzy squealed at the same time. They both jumped up from their seats and tackled him with hugs.

Jace wondered how a nerd like Simon got two gorgeous girls like Izzy and Clary to jump all over him. Tessa was next, a little less hysterical, but the bone crushing hug looked just as firm as the other two. Maia smiled at him from her bed, and Simon hurried over, and gently hugged her. Jace quickly backtracked his wonderings. How did he get all these girls all over him?

Magnus awkwardly patted his head, as if he was a dog, he nodded to Alec, who nodded weakly back, and was patted on the back by Will and Jem as a greeting. He walked over to stand beside Clary and Izzy, who were now standing beside him. He and Jace did that awkward hand-shake-man-hug thing, just because Clary was looking at them expectantly.

"What took you so long?" Jace asked after he had hurriedly, but smoothly enough to not rouse suspicion in Clary, released Simon. "And what do you mean 'found most of the wolves'?"

"That blood trail that I found," Simon said excitedly, "it lead to a severely mangled corpse of a red robed man. There was a note on his body. It said '_Go to the Moon Children's house'."_

"The vampires?" Jem asked sharply. "Why would-"

"Maureen," Izzy said. Jace could hear the razors in her voice. He actually saw Simon wince, and raised an eyebrow. Someone was whipped and they weren't even _dating_. "Whatever she wants from you, it's a no, Simon!"

"Stop yelling," Jem said, "we're in a sickroom."

Izzy flushed slightly. "Sorry."

"Isabelle," Simon said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. He was brave. "It's not that big of a deal. She doesn't want that much of a favor from me."

"Where's the note, then?" Izzy snapped, stepping out of his grip, her arms crossed stubbornly. She looked him in the eye expectantly and tapped her foot on the floor as she waited.

Simon closed his eyes, as if he was begging God for mercy before he pulled a folded piece of parchment out of his pocket. "Here."

Izzy snatched the note out of his hands and unfolded it. Her eyes moving impossibly fast as she looked though the message. "You've got to be kidding me!" Isabelle exclaimed, balling the note up and throwing it at Simon, who flinched and tried and failed to duck out the way of the projectile.

"Come on, Iz-"

"Don't you, _come on, Iz_ me!" Isabelle snapped, putting her hands on her hips. Jace had to cover her mouth subtly with one of his hands to stifle a snort, because, honestly, this was better than any comedy show he had ever watched. He locked eyes with his cousin for a moment, and saw that he was thinking exactly the same thing. "You're not going! I don't care!"

"It's not like I want to," Simon said, holding his hands out pleadingly, as if begging her to listen to sense. "She's the head of the vampire clan, and this is how she wants her payment for saving the wolves. I'm not about to piss the vampires off!"

"It's asking too much!" Izzy exclaimed.

"She just wants a date for the Accords dinner!" Simon exclaimed.

Now that Jace finally got all he needed to know to understand the argument, he proceeded to collapse to the ground, laughing. Literally.

Clary was looking at him, like he had gone insane, though if she knew that Maureen looked like she was thirteen had had the same maturity level as a ten year old, had a slightly obsessive crush on Simon, and Izzy was psycho jealous over it, she would be laughing too. He heard Will's chuckle somewhere in the distance, and he was pretty sure that even Jem was laughing.

"We don't even go to the Accords dinner!" Isabelle pointed out. "It's for ambassadors only."

"And a date if they choose to bring one," Tessa said, her voice sounded carefully neutral, and as Jace looked up at her from his spot on the floor, she looked completely neutral, but he swore he saw the corner of her lip twitching.

"Well guess what," Izzy said, a smile coming to her face, as she walked toward Simon. "You can't go, because guys with girlfriends don't go on dinner dates with creepy stalker girls."

Simon blinked stupidly, "But I don't have-"

He was abruptly cut off by Izzy wrapping one of her well manicured hands around the back of his neck and pulling him forward. His lips crashed on to hers, just as Jace tried to get back to his feet. He, of course, dropped right back on to the floor, howling with laughter and wolf whistling as loud as he could. This time, however, Clary kicked him harshly in the side. He winced and decided that staying in her good books was worth shutting up.

He watched in silent amusement as Isabelle let Simon go, took a step back, and said, "Yeah, you do." She took a deep breath, straightened up, turned around, and walked out of the infirmary with as much dignity as she did when she walked in. That girl was good.

Simon, on the other hand, was still trying to pick his jaw up from the ground. "Did she just...?" he stuttered trailed off with wide eyes, "Did that really just...?"

"Yeah, Romeo," Jace said, finally getting to his feet. He clapped Simon on the back and said, "it did. Now, unless you'd like Juliette to subject you to serious physical harm, I'd go after her."

"Right," Simon said, looking, awkwardly around the room. Everyone was giving him a mixture of supportive smiled and thumbs up gestures. Then, he abruptly hightailed it out of the infirmary.

As soon as the door shut, Jace looked over at Alec, who was obviously trying not to laugh, "Fifty bucks says he comes back with broken glasses."

Alec laughed loudly at that, "You're on, Herondale. She won't touch those glasses. Have you heard her talk about how 'cute' they look on him?"

"I'm actually with Alec on that one," Clary said from beside Jace. "Izzy loves his glasses."

They all settled into silence once again, and Jace sat back down on his uncomfortable stool. Alec and Magnus were now talking to Tessa, Will, and Jem quietly, and Jace couldn't quite figure out what the conversation would be about. Though, he could have sworn they kept glancing back at them.

"Do you think Sebastian's okay?" Clary asked him, her arms crossed over her chest, her face pinched into a concerned frown.

Jace bit his lower lip at he fought back the actual stab of jealousy that tore through him. Clary was allowed to be concerned about Sebastian! He was missing, after all. Hopefully, he was passed out in one of the bedrooms like Alec was.

Apparently Alec had been following Clary, and had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. The men had been plundering a room and had came out just as he had been passing by. There had been four of them before he had finished, and the one that Woolsey had taken down had a pronounced limp after he had managed to subdue him. Jace was proud to know he hadn't went down without a fight.

Realizing that answering Clary might be a good idea, he plastered his most convincing fake smile on his face and said, "Miracles have been happening, Lewis is a hero, Izzy finally made a move, and if that scrawny dweeb came back, I'm sure Verlac's fine."

Clary gave him a weak smile, and Jace was relieved. He wasn't really into comforting people, and honestly, comforting Clary about Sebastian was something he was into even less.

"Look," Jace sighed, standing up, "Jon's not waking up anytime soon, and if these guys were any worse company, I'd shoot myself," he was sure to make the last comment loud enough to carry to Alec's sickbed.

The entire group of them paused and looked at him guiltily. Jace just rolled his eyes at them and shook his head. He looked back at Clary, and offered her a smile and his arm, "That pool is much better company. What do you say?"

She was silent for a moment, her eyes flickering to Jon, and Jace knew what was going through her mind.

"You sitting her worrying about him or Seb accomplishes nothing but grey hairs, which might clash with the very pretty shade of red that you have right now," Jace murmured, twirling a strand of it around his finger.

He met her eyes, and saw her resolve break. She smiled weakly at him and nodded silently. He held his arm out to her again, and she put hers through it. Without another word he lead her out of the room, not missing the conspirational wink that Magnus sent his way.

* * *

**I must be on a roll! Another chapter, and guess what they're back at the institute! I hope you liked the Simon/Izzy part!**

**I'm not going to give the story a specific length, but I don't think it's going to be too much longer, sadly :/.**


	20. Chapter 20

_**Clary:**_

She let out a squeal of protest when Jace splashed water in her face. She actually had to pause for a moment, because she didn't know she could actually make a sound so high pitch.

Jace raised an eyebrow at her, his heart-stopping smirk plastered on his face as he swam slowly, tauntingly, backward and away from her. "You really going to take that lying down, Red?" he asked, even his voice spurred her to move.

She dove forward suddenly, shocking both of them with her actions. Her arms latched around his neck and they both ended up flailing clumsily under the water. Jace, who was definitely the taller of the two, managed to regain his footing and steadied both of them. It was six feet deep, which meant that Jace was standing on the floor and could still breath, but Clary was miles away from the bottom.

She didn't have to worry about drowning, however, because she was clinging on to Jace, who was holding on to her just as tightly. Her head was tucked against his bare chest, and, unlike the last time, she wasn't compelled to move.

What happened to her in such a short time?

"So this isn't laying down?" Jace chuckled, his chest vibrating.

Clary just shook her head, subconsciously tightening her grip on his neck. "No, this is using you as a floaty."

"I charge by the hour," Jace replied dryly.

Clary stiffened and found herself laughing, pulling away from his chest enough so that she could look at his facial expressions as she spoke to him. "That so did not sound right," she informed him.

"Came out as intended," he winked, tightening his hold on her, causing her head to smack into his chest again. She let it without any complaint. "When are you gonna pay up? Beauty like this doesn't come cheap."

"Hmm," Clary said, pretending to think as he slowly moved around. The feeling of the cool water against her skin along with his calloused hand against her back was really nice. "I'm probably going to have to get a job...I don't have any money on me."

"I'm sure there are other ways you could pay up," Jace murmured quietly in her ear. Clary could hear the smile in his voice, and decided she had to hear this.

"And those ways would be?" she prompted, moving her head so that her chin was resting on his shoulder.

"Let's see," he mused. "I haven't done my laundry in probably a month-"

"That's slack, Jace," Clary informed him dryly.

"Fine, then, apparently not, laundry," Jace chuckled, "Joining me in the shower?"

"Hell's still hot," Clary said, shaking her head.

"You sure?" Jace questioned. "It'll freeze eventually!"

"It might have gotten a bit cooler," Clary said, not believing what she was allowing to slip from her mouth, "but it's still pretty warm."

"Well," Jace said, his voice sounding even brighter than before. "If I can't be paid back in showers, what about baths?"

"Next," Clary replied, trying and failing to stifle a laugh.

"Share a bed with me?" he asked. "I heard I'm-"

"I don't want to know!" Clary yelped, pushing away from him, her cheeks turning a furious shade of red.

She barely registered the sound of Jace laughing until her heartbeat started slowing slightly.

"I was just going to say warm, Fray," Jace said, the smirk on his face so mischievous that her heart skipped a beat. "Looks like Magnus wasn't the only person who's sexual escapades have been discussed."

He swam back over to her and encased her in his arms again. "You might as well try your money's worth, since you're going to have to pay up anyway."

"True," Clary agreed, resting her arms on his shoulders lightly as he glided them through the water again. "So, how am I supposed to be repaying you, because, face it, the bed thing's out of the question. Mom, Luke, and Jon would all castrate you."

She saw Jace mock flinch and snorted, shaking her head.

He leaned forward, and whispered in her ear, "What about kisses?"

He asked the question so innocently and quietly, without the cocky demeanor that he normally had, that it made Clary's heart stutter harshly. She smiled and said, "I think I can live with that."

She leaned forward and kissed him softly on his damp cheek, which feel cool from the air. She felt it poke out as he smiled.

"Are we even now?" she murmured quietly in his ear, silently wondering if she had the same affect on him as he did on her.

He was silent, until she felt him take in a shaky breath. A not so small amount of smugness coursed through her, but she remained silent, waiting for an answer.

"This is pretty hard work," Jace said, apparently getting his composure back quickly. "A few more would probably keep me going longer."

Feeling a bit braver, she readjusted herself so that she was looking down slightly at him. "In that case," she said softly, bringing her face down and brushing her lips against his other cheek, and then up a bit further against his temple, then she pressed them softly against his forehead, only to drag them over softly to his other temple. Ducking her head down slightly lower, she kissed his cheek again, and then brought her lips toward the center of his face. She smiled as she realized that he had closed his eyes, right before she kissed the tip of his nose.

"How long should you be able to go off that?" she whispered in his ear, wrapping her arms around his neck again.

He was smiling as he opened his eyes to look at her, "As long as you want me to."

Clary didn't know what possessed her to do it. Maybe it was the almost worshipping way that Jace was staring at her, or maybe it was what he said, because that really was so sweet. She really didn't know. She slowly leaned down, and brushed her lips against his.

She pulled away, to look at Jace almost immediately, making sure she wasn't overstepping any boundaries that she wasn't aware of. She obviously hadn't.

His hand snaked up her back and cupped her neck, leading her back down to him. When they were pressed together, the skin that she thought was cold, felt warm, fiery even, against her, causing her to light up like a match. Her hands knotted into his tangled wet hair and his arms wrapped around her even more firmly, eliminating the invisible space that was still between them.

The only other kiss she ever had was with Sebastian, and it wasn't anything like this one. There was no mindless confusion, and Jace didn't make her feel clumsy or inexperienced at all. She only felt like she was in heaven...until she pulled a bit too hard on his hair and he lost his footing.

Both of them went underwater again in a messy tangle of limbs, and as they surfaced, they were both laughing. He looped his arms around her waist again, and said, "I'm pretty sure I could keep going all night now."

"No cheesy pickup line, or sexual innuendo?" Clary asked dryly.

"I figured you could do without one," Jace said, winking at her, "but don't tell anyone, it could ruin my rep."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Clary said dryly, feeling the most normal she had in days. She smiled at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Jace questioned. "I mean if you're finally realizing that you're madly in love with me, I'm pretty sure we might be able to work something out."

"I just wanted to say thank you," she admitted. "I didn't realize how much I needed this. Just a normal conversation with you. It's made me feel so much better."

Jace returned the smile and shrugged, "I'm pretty awesome, aren't I?"

"Your ego might eventually kill it for me," Clary admitted, laying her head on his shoulder, as she listened to him chuckle. "Oh, and Jace," she sighed, absently rubbing the back of his neck with the tips of her fingers, "what you said a moment ago, about me being in love with you...was that your lame attempt of asking me out?"

Jace stiffened for a second, but Clary didn't move to see his facial expression. "That depends, Red," he replied, "would you have agreed to said lame attempt?"

Clary just smiled and leaned up slightly. She pecked him on the cheek before whispering, "You're lucky you're cute."

"I'm taking that as a yes," Jace said, moving a bit faster than he had been in the water, apparently due to his elation. "I swear, if I wasn't holding you, I'd probably be doing fist pumps and telling everyone what just happened."

"Which would you rather do?" Clary asked, raising an eyebrow. "Answer carefully, because our thirty second relationship could be in jeopardy."

"Quite honestly, if I could, I'd carry you through the whole institute telling everyone," Jace informed her, laughing lightly, "but since you'd never let me, I'd rather hold you."

Clary smiled and tightened her hold on his neck, "Smart answer."

* * *

_**Jace:**_

When he said that he could continue floating around with her in the pool all night, he had meant it. Thankfully, however, he didn't have to. She fell asleep rather quickly after she laid her head back on his shoulder and he started moving her gently around the water. Neither of them talked the entire time, his mind was too busy racing over what just happened.

He carefully walked out of the concrete steps of the pool, holding her so that she was curled up into his chest. He grabbed the towel that was sitting on one of the various white plastic tables around the large room skillfully, and somehow managed to cover her up with it without disturbing her too much.

He was still dripping water, and knew that if Sophie saw a trail of water to his room, she might just murder him in his sleep. Not to mention that he'd never actually do that to her anyway. He sighed at his good intentions and walked over to one of the white poolside sunchairs and gently sat Clary down.

In the day time, it was nice to go swimming, because the roof over the pool was glass, so the sun was beaming inside. Izzy was normally always there getting a tan when they visited.

Clary squirmed slightly, but didn't wake up, so Jace grabbed another towel and proceeded to dry himself off the best he could until there was no more water dripping to the floor. He looked at Clary and sighed before walking over to a large metal cabinet that he knew held the towels. He grabbed three more and walked back over to her.

Biting his lower lip as he bent down, he started gently wrapping her up with them, trying his best not to disturb her. He even managed to gently towel dry her hair without waking her. She must have been exhausted.

He was just about to pick her back up when the door to the pool area opened. He turned around, and saw that it was Jocelyn. Jace let out a sigh of relief, but held a finger to his lips, as he moved out of the way so she could see that Clary was asleep.

Jace could read Jocelyn, who was pretty much an older version of Clary, very well. So it was obvious to tell, just by the way her green eyes flashed that something was troubling her.

Jocelyn began walking toward the pair, and Jace stepped away from Clary, not wanting to disturb her. They met somewhere in the middle, and Jace murmured, "What's wrong?"

Jocelyn sighed tiredly, pinching the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes. She opened them again after a few moments and looked at Jace worriedly, "Sebastian's missing, he wasn't anywhere in the house."

Jace cringed. Clary and Seb, no matter how much he hated it, were close. He didn't want to think about how well she was going to take the information.

"She was exhausted before she finally went to sleep," Jace said after a moment. "If you want, we can wait tell her tomorrow."

Jocelyn looked past him and Jace turned to follow her gaze. He smiled at Clary's sleeping form, which was tucked under all those towels. Though, with a certain amount of smugness, he noticed that she had snagged the towel that he had used to dry himself off and was hugging up to it.

That was fine by him, all the more things to tease his little redhead about later.

* * *

**Yeah...so my roll, technically ended, but it was only by one day! This chapter was full of nothing but Clary/Jace moments. I tried to put a bit of humor back into their conversations for **_**I like being a guest**_**, and I hope you all liked it! And I hoped that the big Clace moment was well worth the twenty chapter wait! Lemme know what you think!**


	21. Chapter 21

_**Clary:**_

Maybe three weeks had gone by since the incident at the wolf house, and everything had gone back to what everyone else called normal. Except Sebastian.

She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply at the thought. Jon, who had woken up the day after they got back to the institute, confirmed what Jace had told Clary earlier that morning, along with a few more major details, such as his kidnapper.

Valentine had felt so surreal to Clary. She hadn't heard much about him, and her mother had always told her that he was a deadbeat father, so she never really cared to know about him. So when she heard that he was the man on the loose, it felt like a stranger, no one she would have to deal with. Then he came after Jon, and took Sebastian. He felt more personal than ever.

Of course everyone of her friends were going out of their way to distract her. Heck, she wasn't even _grounded_! Then again, when your psychotic father mentioned wanting to meet you, most likely with every intention of killing you, what sort of punishment is '_go to your room!'_?

Izzy was in happy relationship land with Simon, which was adorable and disgusting at the same time. Will, Jordan, Jon, and Alec were having the time of their lives teasing them relentlessly. Jem, and Magnus didn't do much teasing, both of them were just very happy for them. Thankfully Izzy, who always outshined everyone took the teasing heat off her and Jace.

When Jon had woken up and Clary had been there to greet him, her fingers intertwined with Jace's, his first words had been, "Which eye do you want blackened Herondale?"

Clary actually managed a smile as she thought about everything that had happened. She was worried sick about everything, but Jace was definitely making things bearable. His relentless teasing remarks, random compliments, and constant company had kept her mind off her troubles. He was the world's best boyfriend.

There was that word...boyfriend.

The first time she'd said it aloud, to a smirking Izzy, it had foreign on her tongue. Now she loved the sound of it. The thought of it, put an even bigger smile on her face as she rested her head on Jace's lap in the training room.

He had offered to help her refine her skills, and she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to get better. Not to mention that was two extra hours a day that they had to themselves.

"What's got you smiling?" Jace asked, twirling a strand of her red hair on his left index finger, looking at it as if it were covered in pure gold instead of sweat.

"You," she replied, knowing she was massaging his ego, which didn't need the extra help.

His lips curled upward slightly as he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers lightly. "As much as I love kissing you," he said lightly in her ear, "I don't think you want to kiss me right now. I happen to be very sweaty."

Clary rolled her eyes as she grabbed the collar of his black training shirt and pulled him down, pressing his lips firmly against hers. She felt more than heard Jace chuckle as he slipped from under her head, careful to cradle it with his forearm as he bent down closer to her. He made a soft trail of kisses across her cheek to her ear, where he whispered, "Am I that irresistible?"

"Just can't keep my hands off you," Clary said dryly, scrunching her nose slightly as a few strands of his curly blond hair tickled it.

"Please," he murmured seductively, "don't try."

Clary was about to do exactly as asked, being the polite individual that she was, when the door opened.

"_My eyes!_ Great God above, haven't you guys heard of a bedroom!" Jon wailed as he stomped inside. "Dammit Herondale! That's my sister!"

Jace pushed himself away from Clary and sighed, looking up at a fuming Jon, who was looking more disgusted by the second. "I'm going to have to kick your ass now! It's in some kind of big brother's codebook, or whatever."

Clary heard Jace snort too quietly for Jon to hear before he said, "Not meaning to throw her under the bus, but would you believe me if I told you that _Clary_ attacked _me?_ The girl can't keep her hands off! I can't help it that I'm so desirable."

Clary looked over at Jace with a raised eyebrow. He was grinning at her sheepishly. She turned around and looked back at Jon, hoping that Jace thought that she was mad at him. He needed to squirm a little.

Jon's face looked a little green, and red at the same time. "You know, Clary, I'm finally considering apologizing about Camille."

Clary snorted and blinked, "All I had to do was make out with your best friend in front of you, and you would have apologized? I need to remember that."

"What happens if Jon decides to kick me to the curb and gets a new best friend?" Jace demanded. "You gonna make out with him instead?"

"Can we please stop talking about this!" Jon demanded. "I came in here to train! Not to have my eyes assaulted!"

Clary sat up and pushed herself back against the cool wall as she looked at her brother guiltily. Jon had been the one most devastated by Sebastian's disappearance. Clary could see the guilt flashing in his eyes every time his name was mentioned. Sebastian attacked Valentine to save him, so naturally Jon felt like it was his fault. He had been working himself into the ground since it happened, trying to learn how to fight better, to protect himself and others better.

"Come on then," Jace said, pushing himself to his feet. "I've probably got a few more hours in me."

Jon gave him a grateful smile, and Clary wryly thought about how she was going to have to actually share her boyfriend with her brother.

He leaned over and held his hand out to Clary, who took it immediately. Jace hauled her to her feet, and said, "You probably don't want to watch me whip your brother," Jon snorted at this, "why don't you go and get cleaned up?"

"You're trying to tell me something?" Clary asked, smirking slight as she raised her eyebrow.

"You're smelly and sweaty, and kissing you was probably not a fun experience," Jon informed her dryly. "Now go away."

Clary gaped openly at him, while Jace tried and failed to cover up a snort. She turned her outraged look to Jace, who held his hands up placatingly, "I swear that's not what I meant! It wasn't funny!" He smiled softly at her and leaned in slightly, "And kissing you is always fun." He leaned down even further but before he could kiss her, she slipped back.

"I should probably go get cleaned up," she said before slipping out the door and into the hallway. Before she shut the door behind her, she heard Jace say something about her being a tease, and snickered. That's what he got for laughing at her.

* * *

She was drying her hair, enjoying the feeling of being clean after having so much sweat and dirt on her when she heard quick raps on the bathroom door.

Considering the fact that she just got out of the shower, she wasn't exactly decent. She rolled her eyes at whoever was at the door, and shouted, "I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment, is there anyway you could come back in like five minutes?"

"No!" Izzy's unapologetic voice sounded from the other side of the door, making Clary sigh. "I can't! Hurry up and get dressed; you can make yourself look good for Jace later!"

At that comment, Clary was sure her face was the same color as her hair, and her mouth was gaping toward the door at Izzy's audacity. She was lost for words, but Isabelle didn't seem to mind in the least, already talking again.

"Maia said she has something to tell us, and that she wants all of us around when she makes the announcement," she said through the door, banging on it one last time. "So hurry up!"

Clary heard the unmistakable sound of heels clacking on the floor as she walked away. Clary sighed and picked her clean clothes up, struggling to put them on as fast as she could. Whatever Maia had to say better be pretty damn important.

* * *

When Maia said everyone, she meant all the group, her parents, Charlotte, and Henry. Everyone was sitting in the conference room, looking at Maia and Jordan, who were sitting together on the loveseat, their hands clasped together. Both of their knuckles were pure white from their grip...talk about nervous.

Clary sat between Jace and Jon. Both guys were still sweaty and dirty, so she went out of her way not to touch either. She didn't think Jace appreciated her gesture too much. The thought made her laugh silently. Simon, who was sitting in an armchair with Isabelle in his lap, his arms around her waist, leaned forward slightly and asked, "What is it, Maia?"

"I didn't think it would actually be this hard to say," she said, a humorless laugh in her voice. She curled into Jordan's side, as he wrapped a protective arm around her, give them all a weak smile.

It was obvious that he knew what was going on, and he was uncomfortable with being silent, but Maia clearly wanted to be the one to speak. Jordan leaned down and whispered something in her ear, and she smiled softly, nodding.

She looked up and around at everyone, her normally dark eyes were bright and shiny with tears. "I'm pregnant."

After she said that everything was in an uproar. Shouts of congratulations, could be heard from every direction. All the guys were shaking Jordan's hand, and Luke, being am almost father-like figure to Maia demanded to know when the two of them were planning on getting married.

Clary found herself hugging a tearful Maia, jumping up and down with her, and patting her stomach gently.

"I am so babysitting," she exclaimed, hugging Maia again.

"Me too," Izzy said from behind Clary. Clary released her friend, only to watch Maia be engulfed by Isabelle. As she released her from her grip, she asked, "Do you know what the gender is?"

Maia shook her head, "Too early for any of that," she admitted. "I'm so sorry for keeping it away from you guys, but...I didn't know how to tell you. Jordan's been so protective of me lately, and honestly, I don't know if I can handle all of you guys watching me so closely."

"Don't worry," Clary said, as Tessa, Charlotte, and her mother started making their way over toward them. "Everything's going to work out perfectly. I can feel it."

Maia smiled a watery smile at her and said, "I hope so, Clary."

* * *

_**No One's POV:**_

Night had fallen over the institute, and everyone was in their beds, sleeping peacefully, their stomachs full from the celebratory dinner they ate due to Maia's unexpected announcement. Even the guards were at peace, standing in front of the large wooden doors, talking and joking quietly.

No one noticed the red robed blur...not until it was much too late. The first guard, a man named Thomas, never saw him coming, and only had time to register cold steel on the back of his neck before he fell to the ground with a blade sticking out the front of his throat.

His companion, scrambled to draw his weapon, but there was already another red robed man behind him. His hands flashed forward, and snapped his neck. He was dead before he hit the ground. The scuffle had been completely soundless, alerting no one to their presence.

The first man let out a short bird whistle, signaling for the rest of his group to follow before he slowly opened the door and slipped inside.

* * *

**Well...some serious shit is about to go down! And my lovely reviewers, I really adore you all! You make me laugh sometimes. At the moment, JaceHerondale17 definitely did. I would marry the towel too, though don't worry ;)**

**Like I said, story's almost over! Only a handful of chapters left. Aiming at 25 chapters, might be a bit more. I'm not sure. Sad thought, really. But *sigh* all good things come to an end eventually. Lemme know what you thought about this chapter on the way out!**


	22. Chapter 22

_**Jace:**_

He was not pleased to be ripped away from his dreams. He didn't ever sleep deeply, so the smallest things woke him up and put him on edge, so when someone opened his door, which creaked loudly, and interrupted a pg-13 (so far) dream of him and Clary, he wasn't happy. He jumped from his bed blindly, unsure of what was going on. As soon as he blinked away the sleep from his eyes, everything seemed to come together into a not-so-nice picture.

A person in a red robe was inside of his room, and Jace did the only thing that came to his mind, he ran forward and jumped at them, tackling them back so that they both went sprawling into the hallway noisily

"What the hell's going on?" Jace heard Will's sleepy voice demand from the room beside his as the door opened.

Jace was a bit too busy being thrown to the side and hitting another door to answer. The robed man got up only for Will to sweep his legs from under him and drop to his knees beside him, bringing his fist down on the intruder's face.

"Talk about a nightly work out," Will yawned, stretching with a quiet groan.

Jace didn't answer as he materialized in front of the room across the hallway from his, Clary's room. He didn't bother knocking, choosing to just fling it open and rush inside. It was empty... aside from its blissfully sleeping occupant.

He heard another door opening, and figured that Will had the same idea as he did, and was checking in on the others. He didn't want to wake Clary up, but he didn't really have a choice. Walking over, he sat down on the bed beside her, and shook her gently.

She mumbled something in her sleep, and tried to push him off the bed before turning so that her back was facing him, and his lap was covered in red hair. He sighed and shook her again. "Clary, come on. Wake up. Let's go, Red."

She groaned as she slowly sat up. She glared at him with half-lidded, sleep deprived eyes. "You better have a good explanation, or I'm pushing you off this bed, and going back to sleep."

Unable to pass up the situation, he said, "Most girls would kill for his opportunity."

With that, she turned around, snatched the pillow that she had just been using from the bed behind her, and slammed it against his head. "Get out!"

He grabbed the pillow and set it on the bed behind him, and said, "No, you've got to come with me. I don't know if you're safe here."

She blinked hard and when she opened her green eyes, they were much more lucid. "What happened?"

"How did you-"

"Your eyes," she said, flushing slightly, "they seem unsettled."

Jace could figure out why that sentence was making his heart attempt to run a marathon later. Clary's safety came first.

He grabbed her hand, and dragged her out of bed. Both of them clambered into the hallway. Everyone else was up, and they were all circled around the unconscious body.

"More red robed freaks?" Clary asked weakly.

"Guess so," Jace said, "he came into my room first for some reason. Big mistake."

"Or you were just the first one to wake up," Jem reasoned.

The thought sickened Jace. He could have easily have killed them. "Why is he here?"

"We need to get Charlotte," Tessa said. "She'll want to notify the Clave about this."

Before anyone could add anything else to Tessa's statement, there was a loud scream somewhere in the huge building.

Jace looked around at everyone, as Will spoke, his voice sounded calm and conversational, but he knew better. "I imagine Charlotte already knows, Tess. And I'm afraid alerting the Clave won't do us much good right now."

"How many of them do you think?" Maia asked worriedly.

"You're not fighting," Jace immediately said, straightening up, his mind racing. "This is Valentine, obviously-"

"He's after you and Clary," Jon said abruptly, his dark irises seemed to have gone completely black. "You guys need to get out-"

"That's a good one Jon!" Jace exclaimed, laughing sarcastically. "Best damn joke you've told in years!"

"I'm not going anywhere," Clary hissed.

"We need to move soon," Simon snapped to no one in particular. "No one wants to run and hide, but staying here really isn't helping!"

Jon looked around at everyone, and Jace could almost see the gears turning in his head. "You two idiots sure about this?" he demanded, looking between Jace and Clary wearily.

Jace nodded, his face set in a serious mask, and he saw Clary doing the same thing out the corner of his eye. He reached out without thinking, and captured her hand, intertwining her fingers with his.

"Fine, Jordan, you, Izzy, and Simon are going to escort Maia to the sanctuary-"

"Three people protecting a werewolf?" Maia demanded. "Bit of an overkill, don't you think?"

"The idea is that you don't lift a finger," Jon snapped, "don't argue. The rest of us are going to try and make our way toward the kitchen area. The training room is right there, and Charlotte and Henry sleep next to the servant's quarters."

"And if that plan fails, oh mighty leader?" Will demanded dryly.

Jon looked at Jace for a moment, who smirked, and said, "We go to plan B: eliminate the enemy, or die trying."

"Straight forward and simple backup plan," Simon commented a sarcastic smile twitching on his lips "I like it."

* * *

The groups separated at the staircase. Simon's group would keep going down until they hit the bottom floor, while Jace's team only had to go down one level.

Of course, they had the only part of the entire freaking establishment that was quiet. As soon as they stepped off the large staircase and into the seemingly endless hallway of the fourth floor, they were thrust into a battle ground.

It was a sea of red robes and night clothes. Jace didn't hesitate in dropping into a kneeling position beside the fallen body of a red robed woman, taking the knife and sword from her body. He got back to his feet, noting that Will and Jem had already engaged three men in a hands vs. blade battle and Clary, Tessa, and Jon were fending off a group of broad shouldered men with only slightly trouble.

He was already going to help his girlfriend and best friend by default, but when he saw her get backhanded to the floor, his body moved before his mind could even catch up.

He jumped at the man, surprising him with a sideways tackle. He landed on top of him, feeling the mans muscular shoulder dig uncomfortably into his sternum. Jace groaned slightly as the man pushed him off. He rolled to the side, stabling to his feet before thean could get up to his.

He ran to him yet again, his stolen sword whipped out, as the man straightened up. He felt the tremor through his arm, straight to his shoulder as his sword clanged against his opponent's blade. He swept his leg forward, kicking one of the man's feet out, knocking him off balance. He spun around, his hand clutching the sword hilt tightly, gracefully, and smacked him on the back of the head with it before he even began falling to the ground.

He quickly grabbed the sword that the man had dropped and handed it to a still weaponless Clary, who had just finished helping Jon take down a large man with a bushy black beard.

Jace saw an angry red mark starting to appear on her face and swallowed, trying to keep his anger at bay. She smiled at him, and said, "Thanks."

"Promise the second date'll be much better," he replied earning a loud snort in response.

* * *

_**Simon:**_

Izzy was insane.

He already knew that his friends were crazy, and that all of them belonged in insane asylums, but he didn't really think that she had jumped off the freaking deep end like she had.

He had volunteered to take the lead.

In other words, Izzy had taken the lead, and he had forced her to get behind him. That part hadn't shocked him, Isabelle was fierce, and it was one of the many things that he loved so much about her. Maia was beside Izzy, her hand over her still flat stomach protectively, while Jordan brought up the rear.

Simon was small, most people would call him scrawny, but he was quick. Quick could mean deadly, so he was okay with being so lean. That only problem was that when he was trying to fight his way through a crowd of red robed lunatics that were hellbent on killing him, they weren't intimidated enough to let him through.

Jordan should have taken the lead, with his large frame, most of the people would have jumped out of the way to aviod getting trampled underfoot.

This was where his insane girlfriend and her freaking whip from hell came into play.

He was all for knocking the people out, and bodily shoving them out of the way, if they didn't outweigh him by too much, but Isabelle apparently felt that they weren't making quick enough progress.

Of course, they weren't the only people in the hall. It was a full-on battle. Simon saw one of the cleaning women, he thought her name was Agatha, smash a thick wooden broom over one man's head, causing him to drop to the ground, out like a light. They may not have been the only people in the hallway, but they were the most interesting; four teenagers moving awkwardly in formation through a chaotic crowd in a specific direction that wasn't the exit.

So, naturally, most of the big and burly people came their way, hence the reason that Simon was making no leeway through the dammed crowd! Of course, his problem came to a climax when no less than twenty of them seemed to just materialize out of the crowd, cutting them off in a rough semi circle of red.

"You remember that straight up and simple backup plan?" Izzy asked him, sauntering forward. Only she could make silky black pajama pants and a tank top look like something bad ass enough to fight in.

"'Course," he replied, wondering if she was actually considering the four of them taking on twenty men.

Simon turned around slightly and realized that Jordan and Maia were no longer with them. Izzy had sent them away, and they were their stalling dummies.

_Wow_, he thought wryly, _that even sounds painful._

"So, um, Iz," Simon said casually as they stared their opponents down. "What chance in hell do we actually have?"

He felt her hand warm against his suddenly as their fingers intertwined. "As good as we're going to get," she replied, before letting his hand go and letting her whip fly. Simon took this as a sign to spring forward, slashing his stolen dagger at the face of the nearest man, causing him to stumble backward, not expecting such abrasiveness.

* * *

_**Clary:**_

She had gotten so caught up in fighting shoulder to shoulder with Jace and Jon that when she finally found someone that she actually recognized, she almost didn't acknowledge them. It was poor, tiny Charlotte, who was holding her own just fine against a much larger opponent. She brought him to his knees and ended his life in such quick and graceful movements that Clary felt slightly clumsy and heavy handed.

She looked over at them, smiling with a slight gleeful and crazed glint in her eye.

That was until she realized who they were.

It was nice to know that they were loved.

"What are you guys doing here?" she demanded as she engaged another man in battle. Clary had her hands full with a large man who was fighting with a hammer instead of an actual blade that could cut through people. For some reason the thought of a hammer made her more weary.

"Decided to help out!" Jace said cheerily, as he deflected a strike from an insane looking woman with bushy blond hair.

Charlotte looked like she had a few choice things to say about them _deciding to help out_, but before she could, a voice so loud that it made her ears throb sounded over the fighting.

"SILENCE!"

Naturally, everyone froze, and pajamaed fighters and red robed warriors alike looked around. Clary was looking too, wondering if it was one of Henry's inventions that actually worked.

"This is Valentine Morgernstern, for those of you that don't know. You are hopelessly outmatched, as you can see. You're fighting valiantly, but it's in vain. All I ask for is my daughter, son and Jace Herondale. Give me them, and I'll leave the Institute standing. If not, we will kill every man, woman, servant, and child that we find. I am ordering my men to evacuate so you can assess your casualties, and make a decision. You have one hour."

* * *

**Yeah...this so felt like the seventh Harry Potter book, but I so couldn't resist! I know how much you guys seem to dislike fighting scenes, so I'm aiming for next chapter to be the last action one. *crosses fingers* after that, it's just a couple more closing ones, and we're done!**

**I already have another idea for a TMI fic. This one is a highschool fic AU. And all human! You know, what you thought this was lol. Lemme know if you'd be interested in another story by me, because if so, I'll give you guys the summary next chapter :).**


	23. Chapter 23

Jon:

He looked around at the others as the red robed soldiers exited the room. Clary and Jace were on his right watching them leave, tensed with what was clearly indecision. Jon understood their pain. He didn't want anyone dying because he was too afraid to give himself up.

"No," Charlotte snapped, and, apparently to reiterate her point, Will cuffed him and Jace over the back of their heads, "don't even think about it!"

He looked at his sister at the same time that Jace did before they both locked eyes. Jace's look was the same as his, '_I don't care about me, but he doesn't get her.'_

Jon smiled slightly. He always imagined that he was going to have to threaten her first boyfriend into being good to her, and end up kicking his ass to the curb after he turned out to be no good, like all normal big bros. He was glad none of that actually had to happen. Jace was a great guy, and he cared about Clary as much as Jon did himself; he could see it in his eyes.

"Clary," Jace said, leaning down as he gripped her lightly by her upper arms. "I want you to go to the bottom floor with-"

"No," she said defiantly. Her voice was calm, but Jon heard the dangerous note underneath that spoke of a serious temper tantrum if Jace persisted. He looked at her pleadingly, and Jon felt himself become a bit queasy from how mushy they had become suddenly. Curling his upper lip in slight distaste, which was completely natural, he turned around and walked toward where Will and Jem were pushing over a limp red robed body.

"Son of a bitch!" Jem, of all people exclaimed. He had been closest to the head, blocking the identity from Jon's view, and when he backed up hurriedly, the body fell over again, keeping whoever it was hidden.

Will, who had toppled over in shock of his best friends use of profanity, scrambled back to his feet. "What is it, Jem?" he asked.

Jon walked closer to the silvery haired boy and gripped him firmly by the upper arm, pulling him to his feet. "Thanks," he muttered to Jon before glaring darkly at the robed man. "Disloyal bastard's still breathing!"

"Who?" Will asked, taking a weary step toward the unconscious man.

"Sebastian!"

Jon felt his insides freezing and his breathing stop. He was swearing in creative ways that he didn't even realize that he knew how, insulting Sebastian's mother, father, and he was pretty sure he managed to curse his pants...it was a daze, though, he couldn't be sure.

Through the roaring anger in his ears, and the stinging pang of betrayal in his heart, he heard himself say, "I can fix that," in a deadly whisper.

He jumped forward, but before he could clear two feet, Will was on him, bringing him to the ground. His insides, which had been frozen over, exploded in a blaze of anger as he threw Will off as though he weighed nothing. He jumped to his feet and dove back at Sebastian.

He felt a strong arm wrap around his middle and he was pulled back, off balance, and slammed into the wall beside him. His eyes snapped shut automatically, bracing for the blow that knocked the breath out of him.

He opened them, and was stating into a pair of serious blue eyes. Alec.

"Pull yourself together," Alec snapped at him. "We can figure this out later! More important things are at stake right now."

Jon inhaled deeply, his rage telling him to fling Alec to the side and to finish the job, but he figured that all it would accomplish would be Jace bodily tackling him, and, unlike Will, he know the blond would knock him out.

"Clary," Alec pressed, "needs you."

That snapped Jon out of his anger induced daze. His eyes quickly flickered from Alec's intense blue to behind him where Sebastian was laying in a red heap. He swallowed, physically shaking as he tore his eyes away and looked to his right, where Clary was standing, Jace's arms wrapped protectively around her from behind as her green eyes brightened greatly. He knew that look all too well.

It should be _him_ holding her when she was about to cry. Not that Jace didn't care about Clary, but that was his little sister. Jon needed to be there for her.

"Okay," Jon said, nodding stiffly. "Alright."

Alec pushed himself off, and Jon inhaled deeply, knowing that he couldn't attack the traitorous piece of scum, and walked delibertly toward Jace and Clary, not looking Sebastian's way the entire time.

Jon stepped in front of his sister, purposely blocking her view of her 'friend' and said, "Maybe you guys should go down to one of the lower levels..."

"That's actually a good idea," Magnus said walking up. "Alec and I were down on the bottom floor for most of the fight. I was helping with fortifications and barriers. Valentine has a few warlocks on his side, but they won't be much use to him with me around, anyway. I was going to start making a portal to Accords Hall for all the children and the ones unable or unwilling to fight. Not to mention that the clave members can come in from there anyway."

That was when Jon remembered that Accords Hall was the name of the building for the government of Alicante.

"Okay," Jon sighed, physically turning his sister around. She was facing directly into Jace's chest until he had enough sense to move out the way. Together, the two of them shoved her down the stairwell, and she was either too shocked or too struck by grief to say anything about it.

* * *

_**Tessa:**_

"You know," Will said viciously as he and Jem dragged Sebastian's body toward a broom cupboard at the end of the wide and long hallway, "I don't know why we stopped Jon."

"It was morally correct," Tessa said, opening the door for them as they unceremoniously chucked him inside. He landed with a loud thud, but didn't stir. Whoever knocked him out, must have done a fine job. "You did it because you didn't want Jon to have to live with knowing he killed an unconscious man in an angry rage."

"Men aren't traitorous pieces of scum," Will reminded her as he grabbed the door from her grip and abruptly slammed it shut, locking it, before looking at Jem and gesturing to a large chest that was being used as a decorative table a few feet away.

Jem shrugged in a '_why not?_' sort of way and they both walked over to it while Tessa stayed where she was, her arms crossed.

"Besides," Will said. "The disloyal bastard was heavy. Jon would have saved us the trouble of dragging him to a safe spot until later."

Tessa gave him a withering look, and Will grinned back sheepishly, letting her know that he was just kidding. She remained silent, grimacing as she watched them laboriously push the table in front of the door.

Will wiped a forming layer of sweat off his brow as he took in a deep breath. Tessa managed a weak smile in his direction, which he fully ignored as he turned to Jem. He clapped him on the shoulder as he said, "Is there anyway you could give me an Tess a moment?"

Jem nodded silently and casted Tessa a quick glance, almost as if wishing her luck before he hurriedly walked off toward a haggard looking Henry, who was trying to move the dead body of a burly looking man in pajamas.

"What is it, Will?" Tessa asked distractedly. "We don't have much time."

He walked to where she was leaning against the brick wall and leaned on his shoulder right beside her, so close that she could feel his heat permeating through his sleeping shirt, which was thin enough to be slightly see through, on to her skin.

"You see, I heard that you were really good with kids," he admitted. "And I figured that maybe you'd like to go through the porta-"

"William Herondale," Tessa snapped, feeling insulted. "Do you think me that frail?"

Will's eyes widened, as he answered, "What? N-no, Tess-"

"Then why are you even insinuating that I go through when I am able to fight?" Tessa snapped.

"You would most likely call them selfish reasons," Will admitted, facing the ground as his eyes looked up at her from under his long, black lashes.

Tessa looked at him with a raised eyebrow and Will rolled his eyes. "Hate to break it to you Tess but I've made it blatantly obvious for a while that I've liked you." And with that, he leaned down and kissed her.

* * *

_**Clary:**_

She felt physically ill at the sting of betrayal in her stomach. Sebastian was in the same league as the man who was responsible for the deaths of so many people at the institute, the wolf house, and most likely other places that she didn't know about.

She gritted her teeth, and something resembling a feral growl emitted from her throat as she expressed a feeling of raw anger that she didn't even know she was experiencing until then.

Jace must have heard her because he turned from where he was, leaned against the door outside of the sanctuary, where every small child and Jon, who had the maturity of one, Maia, Jordan, Magnus, and Alec were stationed.

He and Clary were outside as a safety precaution in case Valentine's goons decided to attack early. They would be the first and only line of defence to the children.

"It's his loss, Clary," Jace murmured, grabbing her hand as he spoke.

"What?" she asked distractedly, inhaling slightly in relief as he rubbed her hand.

"Choosing the opposite side as you," he replied solemnly. "It's no one's fault and no one's loss but his."

Clary gave him a pained smile. Jace was rarely this serious, and she honestly wondered if he knew how nice and thoughtful what he just said was, because the way he said it made it sound as though it was common knowledge.

Jace sighed quietly as he tugged on the hand that was clasped around hers, pulling her into a tight hug. She rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his middle, hating the fact that her stupid tears were betraying her.

"I love you," she mumbled, knowing that he never told her it, and that she was breaking every unspoken rule that the girl was supposed to wait, but she didn't care. He needed to know. "I love you so much, Jace. Thank you for being here."

He stiffened slightly before loosening his grip on her and backing away. She still had her eyes closed and bit her lip, figuring that this was where he told her that she was getting way too serious and that he was going to break up with her for someone more in his league, but he simply smiled at her with such tenderness that it made her head spin.

"I love you too," he breathed before brushing his lips against hers gently.

Her arms gravitated upward, looping around his neck. She was desperate for the comfort that she knew was just millimeters away. Her heart was already beating sporadically as he brushed his lips against hers again before kissing her fully.

Her hands managed to knot into his hair as he pressed her securely into the wall behind her. Neither cared that others were walking around maybe six feet away from them at the most, and they were most likely all watching. Well Clary didn't anyway, the only thing that she really cared about was Jace and how quickly his lips were making her heart pound.

Then the door slammed open.

Jace pushed himself away from Clary, who sighed quietly. Magnus was standing in the doorway, smirking at them indulgently.

"Ah, you two really do choose the most interesting times for that," he said, walking out. Alec followed him, then Jordan, and lastly Jon. He gave them a reprimanding look, and Clary just rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm going to help Ragnar," Magnus said. "We might be able to get some things put together before they attack again."

Alec followed his boyfriend away from them, leave only Jon, Jordan, and she and Jace.

"Jordan," Clary lied, "Charlotte told me that she was looking for you before we left."

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow before nodding curtly and walking off without another word. He must have been extremely worried about Maia, because that was so unlike Jordan.

Jace looked at her with a raised eyebrow as the werewolf left and Jon said, "I don't recall Charlotte saying that."

"That's because she didn't," Clary said easily. "I needed to talk to the two of you guys alone, though."

Both guys got a weary look on their faces that told Clary that they already knew the subject of conversation and they weren't exactly keen on it.

"You're not going out there, Clary," Jace said firmly. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"That's sweet," Clary shot back dryly, "but I don't remember asking for permission. I'm not telling you guys not to go out there because I'm afraid that you're going to hurt yourselves, now quit being wimps."

"You're brave," Jace said calmly, "and if Jon wasn't standing close enough to chip another one of my teeth, I'd tell you how hot I find that."

Clary ignored the way her heart was sputtering at his bluntness as she glared at both of them. "We have to stop him, and, at least if we fail while we're out there, he might stop his assault on the institute."

"And if he doesn't?" Jon demanded.

"Then at least we can say we did something to try and help," Jace sighed, nodding his head.

Clary smiled softly at him, glad that she had, at the very least, won Jace over. Both she and her boyfriend looked over at Jon, who was glaring fiercely at them.

"You're both freaking insane, you understand that, right?" he asked wearily. When they nodded calmly, he just sighed and said, "Well, psychotic sister of mine, did you have a plan of action?"

* * *

**Yeah...so, it turns out that the chapter would have been way longer than any of the other ones if I would have actually have gotten to any fighting in this update...go figure. But, on the bright side...there was Wessa! Anyways...I'll have the next chapter up ASAP, and here is my next fic idea! Review and let me know if it's any good or if I need to trash it...**

_**Clary has known Jace since preschool when he and her twin brother Jon hit it off and became best friends. So they had this relationship that was friendship/brother/sister thing. Jace was a man-whore, but Clary is off limits, and neither of them have had a problem with that for fourteen years.**_

_**The other girls at the school, such as Kaelie and Seelie Queen, don't know that they have a completely platonic relationship, and they bully Clary, trying to get her to back off from Jace. (Because he's screwed them and half the other girls there), so in a moment of complete 'brilliance' on Jace's part, when he realizes she was being tormented, he tells them that he and Clary are dating.**_


End file.
